SMACKOVER -- The Smackover Buckaroos beat the team that kept it from winning last year's Class 3A state championship, and they did it convincingly.
Smackover never trailed in a 42-14 second-round playoff victory over Charleston, invoking the 35-point sportsmanship rule after extending a 21-7 halftime lead to 42-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Keiandre Purifoy scored twice in the third quarter on short runs and Michael Edwards' 63-yard run put Smackover up by 35 with 8:19 to play in the game.
Smackover finished with 307 yards of offense. Edwards rushed for 141 yards yards and two touchdowns.
Smackover (10-2) has won 10 consecutive games after opening the season with losses to defending Class 4A Warren and three-time defending Class 2A state champion Junction City.
Charleston (7-5) won last year's state championship 33-26 when quarterback Ty Storey threw a 4-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds to play at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. But the Tigers no longer have the services of Storey, who is a freshman quarterback at the University of Arkansas.
Charleston's offense was limited to a total of 212 yards.
A special teams blunder by Charleston on the opening kickoff set the tone.
Charleston's return men allowed a high kick to hit the ground and roll 5 yards. The Tigers never fielded the ball -- and Edwards snatched it up.
His recovery gave Smackover the ball at the Charleston 12. The Buckaroos needed only three plays to score. Purifoy scored on a 2-yard run. The extra point made the score 7-0.
Moments later, with Charleston deep in Buckaroos territory, Davis intercepted what was intended to be a screen pass from Tiger quarterback Jackson Rowland.
RIVERCREST 62,
EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE 52
WILSON — Senior running back Cecil Langston punctuated a record-breaking Friday night when he took the handoff on a fourth-and-3 play in the fourth quarter from the Rivercrest 29 and ran 71 yards for a touchdown that allowed Rivercrest (9-3) to hold off Episcopal Collegiate (8-3).
Langston broke the school record for single-game rushing for 437 yards on 45 carries, ran for a school-record 7 touchdowns and finished with a school-record 8 touchdowns. He has rushed for 2,758 yards and scored 32 touchdowns this season.
The Colts needed Langston’s performance to hold off the Wildcats.
Quarterback Jacob Howard was 21 of 34 passing for 365 yards and four touchdowns for Episcopal Collegiate. He also threw two interceptions. His favorite target was Allie Freeman, who caught 12 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns.
Wildcat running back Kelvin Robinson added 20 carries for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass and scored a defensive touchdown.
Sports on 11/21/2015