McClellan gets Strong to advance

HOT SPRINGS -- Pierre Strong had 236 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns, leading Little Rock McClellan to a 50-37 victory over Lakeside in the Class 5A quarterfinals Friday night at Austin Field.

"He's been great all year long," McClellan Coach Maurice Moody said. "It's not just tonight. Every time he suits up, he gives a spectacular performance. I'm just proud of him and all of our kids."

McClellan (9-2) travels to Batesville next week.

Strong broke two long runs in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory, including a 46-yard burst to make it 42-31 with 6:23 left. Lakeside's Caleb Dean went over two defenders for a 38-yard touchdown grab to make it 42-37 with 4:36 to play before Strong broke free on a 47-yard run to set up Raoshun Young's 12-yard touchdown run with 3:12 left.

Lakeside (9-3) drove to the McClellan 10-yard line but came up 2 yards short with 1:37 left, and the Crimson Lions were able to run out the clock.

"We just came up a little bit short tonight," Lakeside Coach Jared McBride said. "They didn't make any mistakes, and we weren't able to get back on top."

Lakeside didn't have much offense in the first half until its final drive. The Rams went into the series with just 35 yards before going on a 59-yard drive with Dupree Swanson's 17-yard run setting up Fisher Alexander's 29-yard touchdown strike to Dean. The Rams trailed 22-15 after Colt Housley scored the two-point conversion.

Strong broke a 38-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the second half to give the Lions a 30-15 lead after Trent Lewis' conversion run. Lakeside answered with Housley's 4-yard touchdown run and an Alexander two-point pass to Ryan Viscardis, making it 30-23 with 5:40 left in the third quarter.

Lewis' 12-yard TD run made it 36-23 with 24 seconds left in the third. Housley added a 5-yard TD run run early in the fourth quarter followed by an Alexander two-point pass to Michael James, but the Rams could never get over the hump.

Strong finished with 194 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, also catching 2 passes for 42 yards and 1 touchdown. Lewis finished with 16 carries for 77 yards and 2 scores.

Alexander completed 18 of 32 for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. Dean caught five for 91 and both scores, Bradford six for 77 and Bland five for 75.

McClellan limited Lakeside's powerful ground game to just 116 yards.

McClellan went three-and-out on its initial drive before the fourth-down snap went through the punter's legs and was knocked back to the Lions' 3-yard line. Maurice Bradford scored on the first play to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.

Lakeside nearly gave up a touchdown on an onside attempt for the second straight week, Ashley Lane tripped at the Ram 38. The Lions got going on the ground starting with backup quarterback Bennie Kemp rushing for 17 yards, and Strong finished with a 9-yard carry and a two-point conversion to make it 8-7 with 7:40 left in the first quarter.

Lakeside continued to give McClellan good starting field position, including Alexander throwing an interception to lineman Jaylen Houston-Hay on the next possession. Strong made the Rams pay again, catching a 38-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to make it 14-7 after a failed two-point run.

BATESVILLE 40,

GREENBRIER 14

BATESVILLE — Junior quarterback Zach Griffin completed 5 of 7 passes for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for another to lead Batesville (9-3) past Greenbrier (7-5) in a second-round playoff game.

Senior running back Louis Sonnier rushed 20 times for 105 yards and 1 touchdown for the Pioneers. He also caught a touchdown pass.

The Panthers struck first when senior quarterback Harold Ross threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Howard with 8:11 left in the first quarter.

Batesville responded in the same quarter when Griffin threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Seth Hixon with 1:51 left. The Pioneers followed that by scoring 17 consecutive points.

It began when Ricardo Terreaux kicked a 32-yard field goal with 9:45 left in the half. Griffin threw his second touchdown pass with 1:09 left, a 7-yard completion to Sonnier.

Batesville didn’t score again until 51 seconds left in the third quarter, on Griffin’s 1-yard run.

Greenbrier responded when Carter Burnham completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Alex Massey with no time left in the third.

The Pioneers put the game out of reach in the fourth. Griffin threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Pemetrice Holliday, and Sonnier scored on a 21-yard run.

Sports on 11/21/2015

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