ALMA -- A lengthy drive just before halftime was just what Alma needed to spark a strong second half on Friday night at Airedale Stadium.
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Alma (2-2, 1-0 5A-West) scored with two seconds left before halftime for a 14-3 lead and didn't look back in a 28-3 victory against Vilonia (3-1, 0-1).
"It's always big when you can get a score right before halftime," Alma Coach Doug Loughridge said. "We wanted to extend that margin. We needed to have that score to gain momentum."
Junior quarterback Garrison Jensen capped the drive that took just under three minutes with a 1-yard run on second and goal.
"We were a little slow out of the gate," Loughridge said. "We were hoping to be sharp. But we kind of came in out of sync. Our defense held its own until we got it going on offense."
Alma was able to dominate the time of possession in the second half, allowing Vilonia to run 15 offensive plays for only 43 yards after finishing with 129 in the first half.
Senior quarterback Noah Dotson was a big boost to the offense when he took over on Alma's fourth possession of the game. He guided the Airedales to two touchdown drives in the third quarter to put the game away.
"We started with Jensen because we he had a good week of practice, and we want him to get some opportunities," Loughridge said. "I thought he played well. But Noah kind of took over for us."
Dotson finished 9-of-14 passing for 111 yards and 1 touchdown. He also added 82 yards on the ground on nine carries.
Alma junior wide receiver Brayden Johnson finished with 9 catches for 89 yards with 1 touchdown.
Junior running back Kaleb Pike finished with 54 yards on 9 carries with 1 touchdown.
Sports on 09/24/2016