Little Rock McClellan runs past Pine Bluff Dollarway in opener

Little Rock McClellan’s Jeremiah Aikins (middle) runs the ball as Pine Bluff Dollarway’s Antonio Brown (left) and Prince Okojie try to tackle him in Monday’s season opener at War Memorial Stadium. More photos from this game are available at arkansasonline.com/galleries. Nashville defeated Watson Chapel 28-22 in Monday’s second game.
Little Rock McClellan’s Jeremiah Aikins (middle) runs the ball as Pine Bluff Dollarway’s Antonio Brown (left) and Prince Okojie try to tackle him in Monday’s season opener at War Memorial Stadium. More photos from this game are available at arkansasonline.com/galleries. Nashville defeated Watson Chapel 28-22 in Monday’s second game.

LITTLE ROCK McCLELLAN 55,

PINE BLUFF DOLLARWAY 0

Little Rock McClellan got the season-opening victory it wanted Monday, but Lions Coach Maurice Moody was far from satisfied with their performance.

Quarterback Jaylon Williams and running back Jeremiah Aikins each scored two touchdowns, and the McClellan defense limited Dollarway to just 59 yards of total offense in cruising to a 55-0 victory in the Bank of England Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Senior running back Xavion Morgan carried 8 times for 81 yards, while Aikins finished with 75 yards on 8 carries for the Lions (1-0), who racked up 319 of their 334 yards on the ground. Three other running backs had at least 46 yards rushing, but Moody was hoping the Lions would put forth a better showing on offense against the Cardinals.

"It's always good to get a win in the first one, but we started out extremely slow," he said. "We turned the ball over and was doing some things that were uncharacteristic of our ballclub. I thought we dominated on both lines of scrimmage, but we've got to clean some things up."

McClellan, last season's Class 5A runner-up to Pulaski Academy, also was penalized 9 times for 60 yards and had 2 touchdowns called back. However, the Lions' defense more than made up for their offensive sluggishness.

McClellan forced three turnovers, had several tackles behind the line of scrimmage and never allowed Dollarway to cross midfield. The Cardinals' longest play of the game was a 12-yard run from running back Kavareous Lowe, and even then he had to break two tackles in the backfield. The Cardinals also sabotaged their chances with 19 penalties, several of which came pre-snap.

Trouble started early for the Cardinals, who are making the move from Class 4A to 3A. Dollarway (0-1) was whistled for a false start on the game's first offensive snap before quarterback Travelle Lee had the ball stripped on the next play, with McClellan linebacker Nathan Cooper recovering at the Dollarway 19. Two plays later, Williams scored untouched from 6 yards out to give the Lions a 6-0 lead.

"Defensively, we played lights out throughout the course of the ballgame," Moody said. "We forced some turnovers and caused problems for their offense all night long, and that's what you want to see this early in the season."

McClellan pushed its advantage to 12-0 with 5:29 left in the first quarter on Williams' 1-yard score that capped a 5-play, 46-yard drive. After forcing a Cardinals' punt on their ensuing possession, Aikins finished off an 8-play, 66-yard march with a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Lions an 18-point cushion. Defensive back Caleb Hendrix also recovered a fumble in the end zone with 3:54 to go in the half, with running Derrick Lloyd adding the two-point conversion, to aid in McClellan's 26-0 halftime lead.

Running back Damion Martin scored on a 14-yard run to finish a 5-play, 64-yard drive on McClellan's first series of the third quarter to give the Lions a 34-0 margin, and Lloyd's 2-yard score with 3:17 left in the period helped invoke the mercy rule for the entire fourth quarter. Aikins added a 31-yard touchdown run at the 11:40 mark, and backup quarterback Jordan Harris finished off the scoring with a 5-yard run with 1:10 left.

"A win is a win and we'll take it how we can get it," Moody said. "I thought we played well for the most part, but our Week 2 isn't until Sept. 7 against Sylvan Hills. So we've got to work on ourselves and get better."

photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Little Rock McClellan’s Broderick Lacy (left) tries to get past Pine Bluff Dollarway defender Terrance Brown during the second quarter Monday in the season opener at War Memorial Stadium. Mc- Clellan won 55-0.

Sports on 08/21/2018

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