CLASS 2A

Three-back attack carries Mount Ida

MOUNT IDA 33, CAMDEN HARMONY GROVE 20

MOUNT IDA -- Mount Ida did little to disguise its game plan. Camden Harmony Grove had little to offer in response.

Running backs Jonathan Lagrange, Gage Dyer and Cade Helms combined for 326 rushing yards as Mount Ida ran to a 33-20 victory over Harmony Grove in a Class 2A semifinal game.

[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD: Full results + recaps, photos and more]

"I thought we executed our offense extremely well," said Mount Ida Coach Mike White, whose team is back in a state title game since its unbeaten season in 2007. "We've relied on our offensive line all year and they stepped up big tonight. We ran it to near perfection."

The Lions (13-1) will play Hampton in next week's title game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. That game is scheduled for noon Saturday.

Lagrange, a 6-0 sophomore, scored three touchdowns, running 24 times for 109 yards. Helms, a 5-11 junior, ran 22 times for 112 yards. Dyer, a 5-6 sophomore, ran 11 times for 105 yards.

The Lions finished with 406 rushing yards and 463 total yards. They racked up 26 first downs. Mount Ida held the ball for 15:27 during the first half and 25:59 for the game.

"Our defense made some stops when we had to but controlling the ball was the key to this game, " White said.

Mount Ida forced a three-and-out on Harmony Grove's first drive and followed that defensive stand with a 17-play, 87-yard drive that was capped by Tyler Allenbrand's 19-yard field goal. The drive took 6:49 off the clock.

"That's our game," White said. "Keep the ball away from other teams, especially one with a high-potent offense like they have. ... Our little kicker, we always try to get some points out of him."

Mount Ida got into the end zone on its next two possessions to take a 17-0 lead. Sophomore quarterback Cade Jackson, who ran for 80 yards on 11 carries, capped an eight-play, 74-yard drive with a 5-yard run with 8:53 left in the first half. A 47-yard pass to senior Austin McAdoo set up the touchdown.

Lagrange scored from the 2 with 46.6 seconds left before halftime to increase Mount Ida's lead to 17-0. That TD capped a 13-play, 69-yard possession.

Harmony Grove (8-5) responded with a two-play, 53-yard drive that took only 21 seconds off the clock. Sophomore Gannon Bearden connected with Dillon Vaughan for completions of 35 and 18 yards to complete the drive. Austin Jordan added the extra point, cutting Mount Ida's lead to 17-7 by halftime.

"My halftime talk wasn't very nice," White said. "You can't give up big plays like that, but that was the youth coming out in us."

Bearden tossed three touchdown passes to account for all of the Hornets' scoring. He was 15 of 31 for 223 yards. Vaughan -- 4 catches for 89 yards, caught scoring passes of 18 and 5 yards and junior Jace Garcia -- 5 catches for 56 yards - hauled in a 13-yard TD pass.

Harmony Grove was limited to 66 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Both teams scored on their first two possessions of the second half and Harmony Grove never got any closer than 10 points. Lagrange added touchdown runs of 2 and 13 yards, both of them coming in the third quarter.

Harmony Grove had a chance to pull within three points in the fourth quarter but the Hornets ran out of downs at the Mount Ida 25 with 5:41 to play.

Mount Ida used an eight-play, 70-yard drive to tack on its final points -- a 30-yard field goal from Allenbrand.

Harmony Grove's final drive ended with an interception.

Sports on 12/03/2016

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