Greenbrier holds off Maumelle rally, Hornets still winless

They're getting closer, but two fourth-quarter touchdowns were one short of what Maumelle needed to overtake the Greenbrier, who held on for a 41-34 victory at Hornet Stadium in Maumelle on Friday night.

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"I love our kids," Maumelle Coach David Farr said. "They show a lot of heart."

A two-game losing streak to start the season seemed to have ended with an apparent victory over Mills on Sept. 16, but Maumelle was ruled to have used a player who had lost his eligibility and had to forfeit the game they won on the field, 35-18.

Maumelle's first two games included productive second-half comebacks that also fell short, but the team had little chance for victory in either. It appeared that way late in the game against Greenbrier (3-1, 1-0 5A-West), who followed senior quarterback Carter Burcham and senior receiver Brandon Thomas to a 41-20 lead.

Burcham completed 15 of 22 passes for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns, Thomas caught 6 for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns.

"They were a good combination for us," Greenbrier Coach Randy Tribble said.

Farr said he didn't want to dwell on the forfeiture but that he asked his players to put it in the past.

"That game did show them that they can win, but what we kind of sold this week was, 'Let's just push forward,' " Farr said. " 'Let's just push past it. It's conference now and we're 0-0.' "

After Greenbriers' final points, Maumelle reacted to sophomore quarterback Xavion Morgan to drive 65 yards on 12 plays, the scoring coming on a 1-yard third down keeper for Morgan that cut Greenbrier's lead to 41-26.

Greenbrier turned the ball over on downs at midfield, and Maumelle (0-4, 0-1) used five plays, highlighted by a 46-yard run by junior Byrun Wade, to pull within 41-34 on a 2-yard touchdown run by sophomore Antavious Henderson and Morgan's two-point conversion pass to sophomore Evan Robinson with 5:55 left.

"It was ugly for us at the end," Tribble said. "We need to clean some stuff up. We fizzled a little bit. We got tired and couldn't tackle them."

Greenbrier nearly ran out the clock on its final possession, but Maumelle took over on downs at its 29 with 8.6 seconds left. Two long passes resulted in an incompletion and senior Cole Krisell's interception at the buzzer.

"I'm real pleased with the way we came back in the second half, but it's just kind of the nature of who we are," Farr said. "We come out and struggle in the first half. They won the first half. We won the second half. Unfortunately, we won the second half by less than they won the first."

An interception on Greenbrier's first possession by junior linebacker Spencer Simpson gave Maumelle the ball at the Greenbrier 13. Three plays later, sophomore Evan Robinson's 5-yard run gave Maumelle a 7-0 lead.

Greenbrier sophomore fullback Seth Howard Carter ran in from 2 yards with 7:13 left in the first quarter. A missed extra point left Maumelle with a 7-6 lead with 1:36 left in the first quarter.

But Maumelle's lead was 14-6 after the following kickoff was returned 89 yards by Wade.

Junior tailback Spencer Sutterfield's 2- yard run put Greenbrier within 14-13 early in the second quarter.

Burcham then led Greenbrier to two-score halftime lead with touchdown passes of 8 and 13 yard to Thomas. The latter gave Greenbrier a 27-14 lead with 2:37 left before halftime.

Sports on 09/24/2016

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