CLASS 5A
MORRILTON 28, LR PARKVIEW 26
MORRILTON -- Two mistakes -- a failed extra point and a fumbled snap -- ended Little Rock Parkview's season in the first round of the 5A playoffs Friday at Morrilton.
With less than 4:00 remaining in the fourth quarter, Parkview fumbled a snap deep in Morrilton territory. The Devil Dogs recovered and after a 25-yard touchdown from junior running back Xavier Clemons, they were celebrating their 28-26 victory.
Parkview, which missed the extra point after its first touchdown of the evening, trailed 21-20 before the fumble secured a Morrilton victory in its first home playoff game since 2013.
"That's the way the playoffs are," said Morrilton Coach Cody McNabb. "It got really exciting there at the end. Just glad our kids made enough plays to win."
The Patriots purposefully allowed the Devil Dogs to score shortly after the fumble, Parkview Coach Brad Bolding said. They needed the ball back sooner rather than later in order to potentially manufacture a 28-28 tie.
"We felt like if we could score and go for two, we could tie it," Bolding said. "That was our only option because we were running out of time and didn't have timeouts left. That was one thing that we decided to do at the end of game, which some people may not realize. But that was the plan, to let them score. And it worked really well."
Trailing 28-20 with one minute remaining, Parkview senior quarterback/running back Geary Allmon III tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Erin Outley with 22 seconds to go and cut the Devil Dogs' lead to 28-26. The Patriots failed to score a two-point conversion and Morrilton survived.
"They had a great plan with letting us score and getting the ball back," McNabb said. "That almost came back to bite us."
Parkview and Morrilton traded touchdowns in the first and second quarters.
Parkview sophomore quarterback Landon Rogers punched in a 1-yard keeper with 3:33 remaining in the first and the Patriots missed the extra point. Two minutes later, the Devil Dogs responded with an 18-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jacolby Criswell to senior wide receiver Terry Franklin.
"The PAT didn't help," Bolding said.
Patriots junior running back Thomas McCauley gave Parkview a 13-7 lead on a 4-yard touchdown rush with 9:21 remaining in the first half. The Devil Dogs needed three minutes to score again.
A 3-yard score from Clemons put the Devil Dogs ahead 14-13 with 6:18 to go in the second quarter.
Allmon, a two-way player who also intercepted a ball in the first half, sent Parkview into halftime with a 20-14 lead after producing the Patriots' third rushing score of the first half, a 33-yard burst with 4:49 to go.
Parkview held its 20-14 lead throughout much of the third quarter. Criswell found sophomore wideout Reggie Toney for a 22-yard touchdown on fourth and long with 0:29 remaining and gave Morrilton a 21-20 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Both defenses stood tall in the fourth. Neither flinched. Then the fumble sent Morrilton to the second round.
"It was just one of those back-and-forth games," McNabb said. "It looked like both teams were on their way to score in the 40s in the first half, then both defenses kind of adjusted and stepped up in the second half."
[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Click here for more scores, recaps and photos]Sports on 11/10/2018