SPRINGDALE -- It's rare that a school two rungs lower than the home team can generate a buzz around the stadium, but Pulaski Academy is not a normal high school football program.
There was plenty of anticipation at Springdale Har-Ber on Friday with the arrival of Pulaski Academy, which went 14-0 last season while winning its fourth consecutive state championship in Class 5A.
The Bruins are a private school power from west Little Rock, led by a coach who piles up wins and challenges the conventional norms of how the game is supposed to be played.
"All I know is they on-side kick and go for it on fourth down," Har-Ber fan Ron Froud said shortly before the game. "Their plays are different than most everybody else's. They do a lot of trickery."
Pulaski Academy put on a show while rolling to a 50-14 victory over the Class 7A Wildcats. The 50 points were only slightly less than last season, when the Bruins averaged 56 points per game.
"When you've only got three starters on each side, you wonder where you're going to be at," Pulaski Academy coach Kevin Kelley said. "I was proud because we played Bryant in a scrimmage and didn't do well."
Pulaski Academy did very well against Har-Ber. The rout began in the first half when Hudson Henry caught a pass and broke tackles on the way to a 54-yard touchdown that put the Bruins ahead 29-6. He's the brother of Hunter Henry and one of the nation's top prospects who the Razorbacks would desperately like to line up with Treylon Burks of Warren in the receiving corps next season.
Henry had 7 catches at halftime and finished with 8 for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Challenging a Class 7A school on its home field is nothing to Pulaski Academy, which went to Dallas in 2015 and defeated Highland Park 40-13 to break the Scots' 84-game winning streak. The quarterback that season was Layne Hatcher, who is a freshman walk-on this year at Alabama.
Junior Braden Bratcher looked comfortable at quarterback for the Bruins, who led 43-6 at halftime. A standout catch by Hunter Wood set up Har-Ber's first-half touchdown but the Wildcats were mostly quiet until a scrum late in the second quarter resulted in a Har-Ber player being ejected.
Pulaski Academy failed on two fourth-down attempts and was facing third down from inside its 1 in front of the Har-Ber band, which did its best to disrupt the Bruins. But Henry came to the rescue with a catch for a first down and he ended the drive with a leaping grab in the end zone to complete a 99-yard drive.
Wood provided a highlight for Har-Ber in the second half with a 43-yard touchdown catch. A feel-good moment for Pulaski Academy came after freshman Savannah Goodwin kicked an extra-point for the Bruins, which was rare for more than just her kick since they usually go for two points after touchdowns.
Former Razorbacks standout Anthony Lucas, an assistant coach at Pulaski Academy, put his arm around Goodwin and encouraged the large crowd for Pulaski Academy to cheer for her.
They did.
"Savannah's one of our two starting onside kickers," Kelley said. "She's got a quad injury but I wanted to get her in the game to feel the pressure. She's a great soccer player and she's going to help us win."
Har-Ber will try to regroup at Russellville after a week off while Pulaski Academy continues its nonconference swing at Memphis Ridgeway and Bossier City (La.) Parkway in the coming weeks.
It's uncertain how those games will turn out. But Arkansas fans surely hope Henry will hurry home from Tennessee and Louisiana so the Razorbacks can keep a close eye on him.
He's a special player on what appears to be another fantastic team at Pulaski Academy.
Sports on 08/25/2018