RUSSELLVILLE -- Springdale High turned to senior quarterback Layne Hutchins in the second half and he came up big when it was needed most.
Hutchins scored the first second-half touchdown for Springdale to take back the lead right after halftime to help spark a 31-28 victory against Russellville at Cyclone Stadium.
Box score:
Springdale 31, Russellville 28
Springdale^0^10^14^7^—^31
Russellville^7^7^7^7^—^28
First quarter
Russ — Thomas 7 pass from Adkins (Talley kick), 5:03
Second quarter
Spring — FG Barroso 31, 2:09
Spring — Thompson 23 pass from Mueller (Barroso kick), 1:55
Russ — Collins 60 yard interception return (Talley kick), :09
Third quarter
Spring — Hutchins 23 run (Barroso kick), 10:25
Spring — Vaughan 6 run (Barroso kick), 6:35
Russ — Talley 10 pass from Adkins (Talley kick) , 2:37
Fourth quarter
Spring — Hutchins 11 run (Barroso kick), 7:56
Russ — Plummer 2 pass from Adkins (Talley kick), 1:49
"He had some big runs for us," Springdale coach Zak Clark said. "He really runs the team well and protected the football. We needed him to close out the game for a second week in a row."
Hutchins started the first two drives of the game, but Springdale was forced to punt on those drives. The Bulldogs then went back to Hutchins in the second half with much more success.
Hutchins finished with 83 yards and two touchdowns while carrying the ball just eight times after the break. Fellow quarterback Will Mueller had a touchdown pass in the first half as well.
"He gives us a different style on offense," Clark said. "We felt like we could run on them. Once you get the hot hand as well, you want to feed it to them. We still feel really good about Will throwing the ball, too."
Russellville (1-2) took a 14-10 lead heading into halftime using a big play on defense from junior defensive back Jason Collins.
Springdale (3-0) started the drive at the 45-yard line with less than a minute left looking to add to its lead. But Collins then intercepted a pass for a 60-yard touchdown with just nine seconds left to take the lead heading into the break.
But it was Springdale who scored first in the second half with Hutchins capping a scoring drives that needed just two plays to take a 17-14 lead.
Springdale junior running back Garrett Vaughan finished off the next drive that needed just four plays to extend the lead out to 24-14 with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
"They had the momentum heading into halftime," Clark said. "But we were able to score twice there and kind of took it back. Our guys were getting excited. Those were two huge scores."
Russellville kept the game close down the stretch scoring touchdowns to pull within three points twice. The come-from-behind attempt fell short after a failed on-side kick after scoring with 1:49 left in the game.
"We felt good at halftime," Russellville coach Jeff Weaver said. "We tried some things coming out we were flat. We missed some assignments. Credit to them with some good adjustments."
Hutchins helped close out the game with an 11-yard touchdown run to extend the Bulldog lead to 31-21 with 7:56 left to play.
"We have been so streaky," Clark said. "Offensively, I feel like we have played much better in the second half of games. But we score in waves. One side of the ball is helping the other when one is struggling right now."
Springdale picked up its third consecutive victory to start the season, which is the first time the program has done that since 2005 in Gus Malzahn's final season with the Bulldogs.
"I'm so proud of our guys they are battlers," Clark said. "We have been in some tight games this season. My hats off to these guys. Our guys haven't been 3-0 for this team. They feel the tide turning."
Junior quarterback Rhett Adkins led the way for Russellville, finishing 10 of 19 passing for 106 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Vaughan finished with 25 carries for 96 yards including a touchdown for Springdale.
Sports on 09/16/2017