With workhorse running back Johnson Guthrie sidelined after suffering a knee injury early in the game, Searcy relied on his fleet-footed stablemate to carry a larger-than-expected load during its biggest game of the season.
Senior Damien Young accounted for 122 yards of offense and scored three of the Lions' four touchdowns in their thrilling 28-27 victory over Benton in the Class 6A state title game Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Searcy Coach Mark Kelley mentioned that Young's output wasn't surprising, but the circumstances surrounding his emergence was.
Guthrie, who was coming off a 181-yard effort last week in the semifinals against Greenwood and had run for 1,089 yards and 15 touchdowns prior to the final, was hurt on the game's first play when he took a hard hit from Benton senior linebacker Jaden Woolbright. The 5-9, 180-pounder remained down on the turf for several moments before being assisted to the sidelines.
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It wound up being the only snap he would take in the title game.
"It definitely hurt not being able to go," said Guthrie, who was on crutches after the game. "But I knew the guys would battle and step up. We wanted this, and we went out and got it."
Guthrie, who was visibly emotional during the trophy presentation after the game, said he and the trainers fear he may have torn his ACL on the play, but the senior also confessed he knew the team would have his back, particularly Young.
"Whenever we've needed him, he's stepped up," Kelley said of his speed back. "Johnson has kind of been more of our short-yardage guy who has the ability to pop it long, while Damien usually is able to get out on the edge. But when Johnson got hurt, Damien had to do it pretty much the entire night.
"But there was no question in my mind that he'd be able to pick up the slack. He actually kind of tweaked his ankle, but he told me, 'Coach, I'm not worried about it, I'm good.' He went out there and played extremely hard like he always does."
Young fumbled the first time he touched the ball, which came two plays after Guthrie went down, but he did little else wrong afterward. He carried 17 times for 75 yards, scoring on 2 short touchdown runs, and caught 8 passes for 47 yards and 1 score, a 7-yarder that gave the Lions a 7-0 lead.
"I had to step up. I had to," Young said. "I tweaked my ankle, too, but I knew I had to do it. It was all adrenaline and heart, and that goes for everybody on this team.
"Nobody really expected us to make it this far. It's been 35 years since Searcy has played in a championship game. We were all going to step up and do whatever it took to get the job done."
Sports on 12/08/2019