WEST FORK -- West Fork is headed for the Class 3A state quarterfinals.
The Tigers' defense pitched a second-half shutout and scored twice in the fourth quarter to claim a hard-fought 28-21 victory over Camden Harmony Grove at Tiger Stadium.
West Fork 28, Carmden Harmony Grove 21
Harmony Grove^7^14^0^0^—21
West Fork^0^14^0^14^—^28
First Quarter
Cam- Venzant 6 pass from Parham (Jordan kick), 2:59.
Second Quarter
West-Bowerman 4 pass from Wise (Wise pass to Bowerman), 9:56.
Cam-Garcia 6 pass from Parham (Jordan kick), 5:50.
West-Burnett 20 pass from Wise (Pass failed), 2:07.
Cam-Garcia 52 pass from Parham (Jordan kick), :09.
Fourth Quarter
West-Burnett 5 run (Pass failed), 11:53.
West-Dickinson 5 run (Wise pass to Zebell), 4:43.
West Fork (8-3) advances to face 3A-6 champion Smackover next week.
The Tigers stopped Harmony Grove senior C.J. Parham for a loss on fourth-and-1 from the 1 with less than a minute left in the game to seal the win.
West Fork coach Brad Lindley said his team made great adjustments to the Hornets' quickness in the second half, after trailing 21-14 at halftime.
"I just think after we adjusted to their speed and we took a little better angles and we able to contain them a little better," Lindley said. "Our guys put themselves in place to make plays.
"Our defense was big all game. But both our lines played well. This was big for our seniors. It was the first playoff win for those guys.
The 3A-1 champion Tigers put together what proved to be the game-winning drive, after stopping Harmony Grove on downs at the West Fork 36. The Tigers converted a fourth-and-3 on a nice pass completion from Colton Wise to Briant Bowerman. Dalton Dickinson scored on a 5-yard run around the left side with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left for the lead.
Wise then found junior Oshea Zebell for the two-point conversion and the 28-21 lead.
Senior Brayden Burnett made the big fourth down stop on defense for the Tigers, but was also huge on offense. He rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown and also caught three passes for 49 yards and another score.
Harmony Grove coach Tony Chambers said West Fork surprised him a little bit.
"They are a good ballclub," Chambers said. "They are a very physical team. I was really surprised at how physical they were. But you can't win when you turn the ball over three or four times in the second half. But hat's off to them. They had something to do with that."
Harmony Grove had some momentum thanks to a big play in the final seconds of the first half. Parham threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Jace Garcia with nine seconds left for a 21-14 lead.
Parham accounted for all three of his the Hornets' touchdowns, all through the air. He connected on two short touchdown passes, including another to Garcia.
Wise threw for two first-half touchdowns, one to Burnett and the other to Bowerman. He also connect for a two-point conversion to Bowerman.
Sports on 11/21/2015