CONWAY -- Demilon Brown is used to performing well in central Arkansas.
On Saturday, the former Rivercrest quarterback excelled in the 64th annual Arkansas High School Coaches Association football game. Brown threw two touchdown passes to lead the East All-Stars to a 34-28 victory over the West All-Stars at Estes Stadium on the University of Central Arkansas campus.
Brown, who completed 10 of 13 passes for 136 yards and rushed for 105 yards on 11 carries, was named the game's MVP. He led Rivercrest to a Class 3A state championship as a junior in 2017 with a victory over Junction City at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
In the final 2:28 of the first half, Brown threw touchdown passes of 19 yards to West Memphis' Devin Olloway and 8 yards to Marion's Joyrion Chase to stretch the East's lead to 34-14 with 17 seconds remaining before halftime.
The University of Arkansas at Monticello signee came into Saturday's game with an aggressive mentality offensively.
"We stayed grinding, and we wanted to really just push the ball downfield," Brown said. "We wanted to keep them off-balance."
East Coach Keith Fimple (Conway) is used to seeing some of the state's top talent in the 7A-Central Conference with his Wampus Cats, defending Class 7A state champion Bryant and 7A runner-up North Little Rock. He got a taste of what Class 3A and Class 4A defenses had to deal with in Brown, one of the Colts' mainstays over the past four seasons.
"He's an unbelievable player," Fimple said. "We practiced during the week, and you could just tell he's very gifted. He can do a lot of things. He's got a bright future ahead of him because he's a weapon."
West Coach Brad Harris (Benton) was proud of how his team competed Saturday, but Brown was too much to handle.
"We knew we were going to have our hands full with the two quarterbacks they had," Harris said. "We knew this guy had good feet and he could throw it, too. He did a great job, breaking some tackles and extended some plays."
The East leads the series 35-27-1, including winning two of the past three games.
The West cut the lead to 34-28 with 2:36 left as Lincoln's Caleb Lloyd threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Bentonville's Harrison Campbell, but the East ran out the clock on its next possession.
Ren Hefley (Bryant) completed 10 of 17 passes for 126 yards and 1 touchdown for the East, which outgained the West 465-445.
The West was led by Joe T. Robinson wide receiver Mekel Kentle, who caught 9 passes for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lloyd completed 11 of 15 passes for 190 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.
It was 34-14 East at halftime as the East outgained the West 270-211 and forced 3 turnovers.
The East took a 7-0 lead with 10:16 left in the first quarter on a 9-yard touchdown run by Jordan Turner (Salem). The drive was set up by an interception from North Little Rock's Dwain Hunt.
With eight seconds left in the first quarter, the East made it 14-0 when Hefley threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Berkario Black (Pine Bluff) to cap a 12-play, 71-yard drive.
The West went 75 yards in eight plays to pull within 14-7 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Lloyd to Kentle.
The East extended its lead to 21-7 with 5:15 remaining in the second quarter on a 4-yard run by Helena-West Helena's Demarcus Sheard to finished a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
Kentle's 20-yard touchdown reception from Lloyd cut the East's lead to 21-14 with 2:28 left in the second quarter.
Conway Christian quarterback Jacob Wood scored from 4 yards out with 1:20 left in the third quarter to pull the West within 34-21.
East 14 20 0 0 -- 34
West 0 14 7 7 -- 28
FIRST QUARTER
East -- Turner 9 run (Robles kick), 10:16
East -- Black 19 pass from Hefley (Robles kick), 0:08
SECOND QUARTER
West -- Kentle 7 pass from Lloyd (Goodman kick), 10:57
East -- Sheard 4 run (Robles kick), 5:15
West -- Kentle 20 pass from Lloyd (Goodman kick), 2:28
East -- Olloway 19 pass from Brown (Robles kick), 0:40
East -- Chase 8 pass from Brown (kick failed), 0:17
THIRD QUARTER
West -- Wood 4 run (Goodman kick), 1:20
FOURTH QUARTER
West -- Campbell 52 pass from Lloyd (Goodman kick), 2:36
TEAM STATISTICS
EAST WEST
First downs 26 19
Rushes-yards 39-203 27-54
Passing yards 262 391
Att-Comp-Int 30-20-1 39-24-4
Total yards 465 445
Punts-Avg. 1-34.0 1-29.0
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties 6-66 5-60
Sports on 06/23/2019