BAUXITE -- A tear-jerking week for the Bauxite Miners ended with a stirring homecoming victory.
Bauxite sophomore Hayden Edwards scored twice and junior Blake Garrett intercepted a pass with 1:24 remaining to allow the Miners to escape with a 32-28 victory over the Mena Bearcats in a 7-4A Conference game at The Pit.
Playing six days after the death of Tracey Patton -- the wife of Bauxite head coach Daryl Patton -- the Miners jumped out to an 18-point lead, fell behind 28-25, regained the advantage early in the fourth quarter and then came up with their biggest defensive stand of the night.
"We were all in this together," Bauxite junior quarterback Seth McDowell said. "We just owed it to her because that's what she would have wanted. She would have wanted us to stay focused and win the game for her. She wouldn't have wanted it any other way."
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Bauxite, with Patton on the sideline, finished with 362 yards of total offense, 332 of which came on the ground. Mena had 265 yards (187 rushing, 78 passing). The Miners ran more plays than Mena, 54 to 36, chewed up more clock, 29:41 to 18:19.
Bauxite (4-2, 2-1) made a statement when it took the field before kickoff.
Instead of rushing out of the oversized inflatable helmet in the north end zone, many of the Miners locked arms and walked toward the sideline.
The Miners' defense rarely saw the field for the game's first 14 minutes,.
Bauxite scored on its first four possessions and recovered two onside kicks on its way to grabbing a 25-8 advantage.
"We're not used to being up by that much," said McDowell, who ran 11 times for 64 yards, including a 4-yard scoring run with 10:03 left in the first half. "We're usually going back and forth. So when we got up so high, we just kinda stopped."
Mena (3-3, 0-3) got back into the game thanks to senior running back Justin Dean, who scored on runs of 15, 15 and 17 yards. Dean also caught a 36-yard TD pass from Carson Cannon and scored a two-point conversion.
Dean's scoring reception came with the Bearcats facing a fourth-and-17 with 3:26 left in the third quarter. That touchdown allowed Mena to take a 28-25 lead.
Bauxite responded with an 11-play, 64-yard drive that was capped by Dawson Dabbs' 23-yard run. The Miners converted three third-down plays on what eventually became its game-winning drive.
Mena had two chances to regain the lead.
The Bearcats turned the ball over on down at their own 32 with 8:10 left, but Bauxite's ensuing drive ended with a punt.
Mena's final possession started at its own 4 with 5:25 left. The Bearcats managed two first downs and reached their own 35, but on fourth-and-5 from the 32, Garrett tipped Cannon's pass before making a diving interception at the 36.
"I was watching (Cannon) and it came right to me," Garrett said. "It was just meant to be. ... I tipped it and it came right to me. I just wanted to win the game for Miss Tracey."
Sports on 10/07/2017