Pulaski Academy Coach Kevin Kelley hasn't seen many moments this season in which he thought quarterback Layne Hatcher was unprepared for his first season as a varsity starter.
The sophomore might have been at his best Friday night.
Hatcher completed 23 of 31 passes for 365 yards and threw 5 touchdowns to three different receivers Friday night to help the Bruins (6-0, 3-0 5A-Central) stay unbeaten in a 49-13 victory over Beebe at Joe B. Hatcher Stadium.
Seven of Hatcher's passes went to senior Tre Bruce, who 183 yards and 2 touchdowns receiving, but Hatcher also threw touchdowns of 6 and 13 yards to Tra Johnson, and a 4-yard score to Zach Kelley in the rout.
"People forget he's just a sophomore," Kevin Kelley said. "How good is he going to be the more experience he gets? He's started six games, and he's already here, how good is he going to end up being?"
Hatcher led the Bruins to touchdowns on seven of their first eight drives, missing out when time ran out with them holding a 22-7 lead at halftime and turning it over on downs in the third quarter. Pulaski Academy didn't fully put Beebe (2-4, 1-2) away until early in the third quarter, when Hatcher connected with Johnson for a 13-yard score to go ahead 29-7.
The Bruins then recovered an onside kick. On the next play, Bruce's throwback pass to Jaren Watkins went 61 yards for a touchdown for a 36-7 lead and the Badgers didn't have enough firepower to keep up.
Kelley said his team thinks it's doing well if it recovers one onside kick it attempts every time after scores.
"One is a game changer," Kelley said.
Beebe Coach John Shannon thinks so, too. The Badgers recovered all four of Pulaski Academy's onside attempts in the first half. The Badgers' ball-control offense helped keep the game relatively close at halftime.
"When you can limit a team like that's possessions, that's how you're able to play with them," Shannon said. "When you give them extra possessions, that's when they bury you."
Beebe did what it could to keep the ball out of Hatcher's hands in the first half. The Badgers' first drive ended with a turnover on downs, but they took more than six minutes off the clock. After the Bruins scored in less than three minutes to go up 8-0, the Badgers went 49 yards and Trip Smith's 2-yard touchdown made it 8-7.
Beebe's next drive ended with a turnover on downs and their last drive of the half ended with a punt as they went into halftime trailing by 15. Smith wasn't available in the second half after Shannon said he sprained a knee and Beebe didn't have the correct brace for him to wear.
Smith had 82 yards rushing on 25 first-half carries. The Badgers finished with 191 total yards.
"I felt like we didn't have any bullets left in our guns," Shannon said.
Kelley credited his defense for playing against an offense they're not used to seeing.
"Our defense had to stand up or it could have been a different type of ball game," Kelley said. "It's a brutal type of game they play. Hats off to their kids for being tough and our kids to stand up and take that on and play well."
NONCONFERENCE
JOHNSON CO. WESTSIDE 16, LR FAIR 8
Seth Stewart threw two touchdown passes to lift Johnson County Westside to a nonconference victory over Little Rock Fair. Chazz Estep led the Rebels with eight carries for 60 yards. Stewart threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Yates and a 15-yard touchdown pass to Gunner Williams.
Sports on 10/10/2015