FAYETTEVILLE -- Fort Smith Southside quarterback Cooper Johnson turned it on at the right time Tuesday night.
Alma cornerback Kevin Shultz returned one of Cooper's passes 31 yards for a touchdown that gave the Airedales a 19-0 lead with just less than six minutes remaining before halftime at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, but the rest of the game belonged to Johnson and the Rebels.
Johnson completed his next eight passes as Southside reeled off 35 consecutive points on the way to a 35-19 victory in the season opener for both teams.
Southside scored two touchdowns in the final 3:13 of the first half, and it took less than minute for the Rebels to add 14 more early in the second half. Johnson completed 15 of 20 passes for 235 yards and 1 touchdown. He was 12 of 16 for 149 yards in the first half.
Southside Coach Jeff Williams said he left his quarterback alone after Alma had taken a 19-0 lead.
"The game, and especially the season, is a marathon," Williams said. "We understand that good things are going to happen and bad things are going to happen. Johnson just kept playing, just like the rest of the team, and we finally got going.
"When you keep fighting, good things are going to happen."
Johnson opened the Rebels' next possession after the interception with three consecutive completions and he completed five consecutive passes for 52 yards before capping the 80-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Johnson cut Alma's lead to 19-14 going into halftime with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Evan Simpson with 28 seconds left before halftime.
Southside put away the game with 14 points in a 17-second span in the third quarter. Johnson hit Randy Rainwater for a 52-yard gain to set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Kobe Rogers. Then Southside linebacker Ian Hattabaugh returned an interception 21 yards for another touchdown and a 28-19 lead with 7:17 left in the third quarter.
Johnson said the Rebels never panicked after falling behind by three scores
"When you get down, you just have to pick yourself up and that is what we have been taught as a team.," Johnson said. "I just told the guys that we would get back in this game. I just focused on the fundamentals and it came together."
Southside's defense also came up big in the second half. Trailing 28-19, Alma face a third-and-1 situation at the Southside 2 but the Rebels stopped a fake field-goal attempt on fourth down to take possession of the football.
"Stopping them was pretty big," Williams said. "Our defense played pretty well."
Sports on 09/02/2015