ROGERS -- Graves Schmidley appeared to be in trouble well behind the line of scrimmage.
[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD: Full results + recaps, photos and more]
The Fort Smith Southside quarterback had one defender pulling his jersey, and another closing in fast from the backside. Somehow Schmidley spun free and hit a big pass down field for 30 yards to keep the drive alive.
FS Southside^16^6^17^0^—^39
Rogers Heritage^0^8^0^14^—^22
First Quarter
South — Rogers 2 run (Wehunt run), 4:05.
South — Schmidley 20 run (Gatewood pass to Horn), 1:53.
Second Quarter
Herit — Gall 35 pass from Brown (Coleman run), 6:07.
South — Rogers 7 pass from Schmidley (Kick failed), :06.
Third Quarter
South — FG Gutierrez 38, 8:11.
South — Rogers 1 run (Gatewood run), 3:47.
South — Gordon 73 interception return (Pass failed), :00
Fourth Quarter
Herit — Palacios 8 pass from Brown (Pass failed), 7:15.
Herit — De la Rosa 14 pass from Brown (Graser run), :53.
Schmidley's scramble and completion was one of many big plays for the Mavericks' senior, and it helped Southside to a 39-22 win over Rogers Heritage at David Gates Stadium on Friday night.
Schmidley finished the night 11 of 17 passing for 141 yards and one touchdown, and he also ran for another score as the Mavericks earned their first win of the season.
"This was the best game he's played so far," Southside coach Jeff Williams said of Schmidley. "It's his third start underneath his belt, and we felt like in practice all week he was getting better. We wanted to come here and just to make sure we executed better than we have the last two weeks. We've turned it over a lot and made some bad mistakes.
"We played a lot cleaner. We still have a lot of work to do, and do a better job of finishing games, but that comes as you play."
Southside scored on its first two offensive possessions, driving 84 yards on its opening drive, and 68 yards on its second drive for a 16-0 lead. Kobe Rogers, who led the Mavericks with 80 yards on 17 carries, capped the first drive with a 2-yard run with 4 minutes, 5 seconds left in the first quarter. Schmidley ran 20 yards for the second touchdown with 1:53 left in the first quarter. The Mavericks successfully added two-point conversions after both scores.
Heritage sophomore quarterback Zach Brown, who was making his first start, got into a groove in the second quarter and led the War Eagles (0-3) on a 65-yard scoring drive. Brown hit several key passes in the drive, but the 35-yard strike to Zach Gall in the end zone was a beauty with 6:07 left in the first half.
"I thought Zach had a lot of positive things happen for him tonight," Heritage coach Tony Travis said of his young quarterback. "We have a lot there to build on."
Southside grabbed a 22-8 halftime lead by driving 55 yards at the end of the first half, capped by Schmidley's 7-yard scoring pass to Rogers. It was one of 4 completions on the drive for the Mavericks' quarterback.
The Mavericks put the game away in the third quarter, scoring three different ways. Southside took the third quarter kickoff and marched 81 yards with Derek Gutierrez drilling a 38-yard field goal. Southside later marched 59 yards for another Rogers touchdown, then Garrett Gordon intercepted a Brown pass and returned in 73 yards for a touchdown and a 39-8 lead.
Heritage scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, both on passes from Brown. The first was an 8-yard strike to Roberto Palacios to cap an 80-yard drive, and the second was a 14-yard dart to Jay De la Rosa after sophomore Ty Graser broke off a 70-yard run to set up the score.
The War Eagles are on the road next week at Springdale High to open 7A-West Conference action. Southside is at home against Conway in the 7A-Central Conference opener.
Sports on 09/17/2016