SPRINGDALE -- Springdale High applied a quick knockout en route to a 40-23 win over Rogers High on Friday night at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.
The Red Bulldogs (6-4, 3-4 7A-West) clinched a winning season and the No. 5 seed out of the West in next week's playoffs with three first-quarter touchdowns. Springdale will travel to Cabot next week, while Rogers will be on the road to Bryant.
Springdale High 40, Rogers High 23
Rogers^0^0^0^23^—^23
Springdale^20^13^7^0^—^40
First Quarter
Spring-Nichols 8 pass from Hutchins (run failed), 8:05.
Spring-Parchman 91 run (Boroso kick), 3:30.
Spring-Boyd 45 interception return (Boroso kick), 2:13.
Second Quarter
Spring-Vaughan 2 run (Boroso kick), 8:52.
Spring-Thompson 76 pass from Hutchins (Pass failed), 6:08.
Third Quarter
Spring-Vaughan 7 run (Boroso kick), 7:21.
Fourth Quarter
Rog-Loyd 3 run (Loyd pass to Louree), 10:30.
Rog-Allred 5 run (McWhorter run), 4:47.
Rog-Williamson 3 blocked punt return (Hernandez kick), 0:55.
Rogers (5-5, 2-5) was knocked on its heels quickly, thanks to big plays from both the Springdale offense and defense.
Springdale opened the game with an 11-play drive mixing both the pass and run. Quarterback Layne Hutchins faked left and came back to the right to find big senior Isaiah Nichols for an 8-yard touchdown pass, following a false start penalty.
Darrell Parchman then broke a 91-yard touchdown run late in the opening quarter to give Springdale a 13-0 lead. Sophomore defensive back Jajuan Boyd followed less than 90 seconds later with the first of his two interceptions in the half. He returned this one 45 yards for a touchdown and a 20-0 lead with 2 minutes, 13 seconds left in the first quarter.
Hutchins, who threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, connected with Alex Thompson for a 76-yard touchdown pass to push Springdale's lead to 33-0 with 6:08 left in the first half.
Springdale coach Zak Clark couldn't have been more pleased with how his team played on senior night. The Red'Dogs clinched their first six-win season since 2010 and are headed to the playoffs for the third straight season.
"We challenged them all week because didn't feel like we played very well last week," Clark said. "Just really proud of the way our guys came out with a lot of energy. We get a touchdown on the first drive. Our defense just absolutely shut them down, had an outstanding game. And the sideline was a lot of fun.
"Typically when we start fast, we finish it out and play well. It took everybody. Special teams played great. Offense was really efficient and our defense was dominant. We're number five, but we earned it. We're playing pretty well right now and we'll see what happens."
Hutchins finished 16-of-23 passing for 237 yards and two touchdowns. The senior came out after guiding the Red'Dogs to a third-quarter score for a 40-0 Springdale lead. Thompson finished with five catches for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Parchman ran for 128 yards on just four carries.
Rogers coach Mike Loyd said dropped passes and missed assignments fueled the fire early for Springdale.
"We had chances to make plays early," Loyd said. "Football doesn't care your age, but we didn't help ourselves early."
Sophomore Hunter Loyd threw for 216 yards and ran for a touchdown. He also threw two interceptions.
Sports on 11/04/2017