FOUNTAIN LAKE - Arkadelphia converted four fumbles into 13 points and beat Fountain Lake 19-14 Friday night in the Class 4A playoffs on Allen Tillery Field at Beckham Memorial Stadium.
Avenging a home loss earlier this season to its 4A-7 rival, Arkadelphia (7-5) advanced to the quarterfinal round next week at Dardanelle. The Badgers won at Helena-West Helena last week and at the home of a second-seeded team Friday.
Fountain Lake (8-4) fumbled at Arkadelphia's 5 with 2:08 left after driving 75 yards in 11 plays. Five plays later, Arkadelphia quarterback Jeff Blake barreled ahead for 27 yards on fourth and short. He led the Badgers rushing -- 15 carries for 100 yards -- and passing -- 10 of 14 for 128 yards.
Senior fullback Parker Ross carried eight times for 63 yards on the final Cobra drive, finishing with a game-high 200 yards on 31 carries -- the Cobras totaled 243. Defensive back Dillon Scott stopped Ross for a loss on his final carry and recovered a fumble on the subsequent play.
Arkadelphia capitalized on two Cobra fumbles in as many plays to lead 19-14 at halftime. Scott's 55-yard scoop and score cut Fountain Lake's lead to 14-13 with 3:33 to play in the second quarter. Tyrel Caudle recovered a Cobra fumble on the ensuing kickoff, leading to a 19-yard touchdown pass from Blake to Shemar Dickens with 22 seconds left before the break.
Ross had 17 first-half carries for 108 yards. He scored from the one with 3:13 to play in the first quarter, making it 7-7, after a 66-yard kickoff return.
JT McCoy's recovery of an errant Badger pitch positioned the Cobras to take the lead. Adrias Turner's 1- yard quarterback sneak capped an 11-play 60-yard drive that put Fountain Lake up 14-7 with 8:51 left in the half.
Arkadelphia drew first blood on Leotis McClure's 6-yard run with 6:27 to play in the first quarter. Blake's 46-yard completion on a wheel route to running back Jathan Bowens was the key play in the 55-yard scoring drive.
PRAIRIE GROVE 34,
ASHDOWN 24
PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove (11-1) saw an 18-point lead evaporate down to two points in the fourth quarter but drove 69 yards for a score with 1:25 remaining to seal a victory over Ashdown (8-4) in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs at Tiger Stadium.
Cole Walker’s 1-yard plunge and Blake Faulk’s two-point conversion set the final score for Prairie Grove, which will host Star City next Friday in the quarterfinals following Star City’s 33-28 victory over Pocahontas.
Prairie Grove led 18-0 in the first half after scoring three touchdowns. Sam Dodd found tight end Dylan Soehner for a 10-yard pass for the Tigers’ first score and a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, and Faulk and Anthony Johnson each ran for touchdowns in the second quarter. Ashdown cut the lead to 18-6 going into halftime and pulled within 18-12 in the third quarter on Jaden Hill’s second touchdown run of the game.
The Tigers answered with a scoring drive to go up 26-12 in the third on a 20-yard pass from Dodd to Gavin Heltemes and a two-point conversion from Faulk, but Ashdown would answer twice.
Tre Green scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and his second TD pulled the Panthers within 26-24 with 6:10 left to play.
STAR CITY 33, POCAHONTAS 28
POCAHONTAS — Blake Wynn scored on a touchdown run with 34 seconds left in the game as Star City rallied after trailing three times to advance in the Class 4A playoffs.
Pocahontas led 7-0 in the first quarter, 14-7 at halftime and 28-27 in the fourth quarter before Wynn’s late touchdown. Jaylen Mallett scored on a 1-yard run for Star City in the first half.
CJ Shelton caught a 70-yard touchdown pass and scored a 40-yard run in the third quarter. Shelton also ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
WARREN 35, POTTSVILLE 34
WARREN — A missed extra point in the fourth quarter provided the difference in Warren’s victory over Pottsville. Dennis Daniels rushed for three touchdowns to help Warren (10-1) eventually build a 34-26 lead entering the fourth quarter. He scored on two 1-yard runs and a 5-yard run in the first half.
The Lumberjacks also got help from Hayden Lassiter, who threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Treylon Burks in the second quarter.
Pottsville (8-4) scored the only touchdown of the fourth quarter to bring the Apaches within a point, but the missed extra point denied their opportunity to tie the game.
DARDANELLE 45, HAMBURG 7
DARDANELLE — Chris Kershner and Dakota Rowland each ran for three touchdowns to lead Dardanelle into the Class 4A quarterfinals.
Temo Mantiney kicked a 30-yard field goal and was 6 for 6 on extra points for the Sand Lizards.
Sports on 11/21/2015