Make it eight for Pulaski Academy.
The Bruins won their eighth state championship with a 63-21 rout of their rival Little Rock Christian in Saturday's Class 5A title game in front of 8,986 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Pulaski Academy (12-2) earned its fifth crown in six seasons, all under Coach Kevin Kelley.
"It's an awesome run," Kelley said. "It feels great to always be here. It sometimes becomes a monster that's really hard to feed. We lose a game here and there and everyone thinks the world's coming to an end. Everybody asks what's happening.
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"But in the end, we had a group of kids who really bought into what we do."
Senior quarterback Braden Bratcher, the game's MVP, completed 37 of 48 passes for 439 yards with 5 touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
The Bruins broke the state single-season scoring record with 790 points, surpassing their own mark of 784 in 2017. The Bruins also averaged a state-record 56.4 points per game this season.
A year after being part of Pulaski Academy's Class 5A title game loss to Little Rock Christian, Bratcher was glad to be on the winning side in his final high school game.
"That feeling last year was one you don't want to experience," Bratcher said. "We knew we had to take it week by week, game by game to get here to do what we did. It's a surreal feeling."
Kelley said he was proud of his second-year starting quarterback.
"Braden did the same thing he's pretty much done all year," he said. "He can run the ball and he can pass the ball.
"I hope somebody gives him a chance at a college where he would like to go because he's a phenomenal young man and a phenomenal player."
Bratcher said Saturday that East Central (Okla.) of the NCAA Division II Great American Conference is the only school that has offered him a scholarship.
Little Rock Christian Coach Eric Cohu credited Bratcher for his play against the Warriors.
"He's a great competitor," Cohu said. "He's fast and strong. He has a way of staying alive. You've got to put pressure on him. He's a good football player, and I wish him the best."
Sophomore running back Joe Himon finished with 90 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries while adding a 61-yard scoring reception.
Ten different Bruins caught at least one pass. Junior Cooper White led the Bruins with 8 receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown. Senior Mason Kolb caught two touchdown passes, while Merritt Jones, also a senior, hauled in a touchdown.
Pulaski Academy amassed 766 yards in 86 plays while holding Little Rock Christian (13-1) to a season-low 201 yards. The Warriors turned the ball over four times.
Pulaski Academy gained 519 yards in the first half to take a 35-14 edge at halftime.
On the first play of the game, Himon threw a 74-yard pass to White, who was tackled at the Warriors' 1. From there, Himon scored for a 6-0 lead with 11:28 left in the first quarter.
Warriors senior running back Kendel Givens fumbled at the Pulaski Academy 14, and Bruins senior defensive lineman Wilson Miller recovered. The Bruins then churned up 86 yards in 12 plays, with Bratcher tossing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kolb with 6:27 left in the first quarter. Bratcher's two-point conversion pass to Himon gave the Bruins a 14-0 lead.
Little Rock Christian got on the board with 2:22 left in the first quarter when senior linebacker G Allen returned Bratcher's interception 87 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7.
Bratcher shook off the turnover and threw his second touchdown pass of the quarter, this one for 21 yards to Jones. Bratcher's two-point conversion toss to Himon made it 22-7 Bruins at the 36-second mark.
Givens' 29-yard touchdown run with 11:28 left in the second quarter pulled the Warriors within 22-14, but the Bruins went up 29-14 on Himon's 32-yard run with 8:00 left before halftime.
Bratcher's 1-yard touchdown run with 3:20 left in the second quarter capped the Bruins' first-half scoring.
In the second half, Bratcher had three touchdown passes -- a 4-yard pass to White, a 1-yard pass to Kolb and a 52-yarder to Himon -- and junior running back Izarius Woods scored from 1 yard out.
For Little Rock Christian, Givens had 110 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Senior quarterback Akeem Gilmore was limited to 7-of-19 passing for 113 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
Sports on 12/08/2019