WEST MEMPHIS -- In just his third game on offense, senior Kendarious Moore rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns to lead West Memphis to a 33-28 victory over Lake Hamilton in a Class 6A quarterfinal.
Moore, an all-state linebacker and three-year starter at the position, also registered a sack.
He scored on runs of 4, 63 and 58 yards.
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The key play was his 63-yard touchdown on a fake punt. The Blue Devils (7-4) faced fourth and 9 from their own 37 when Coach Billy Elmore called for the fake.
"We had the numbers. They had us overloaded to the right," Elmore said. "To be honest with you, when I called it I looked and I thought, 'Oh no, it's fourth and 9.' But we had the bulldozer [Moore] running through there."
Moore moved to offense in Week 9 in an attempt to shore up a run game that had stalled. He has lined up in the Wildcat formation on most Blue Devil possessions.
"I always wanted to run the ball," Moore said. "The transition hasn't been hard. I was a quarterback in little league and played offense in junior high."
Moore's 4-yard touchdown on West Memphis' first possession gave the host a 7-0 lead, but Lake Hamilton (9-3) would go on to rush for 215 first-half yards thanks to two long touchdown runs, the first of which was a 64-yard answer from Owen Miller to tie the game.
West Memphis quarterback Owens McConnell and Lake Hamilton running back Kendrick Martin scored on touchdown runs for a 14-14 halftime deadlock.
But Moore's touchdown on the fake punt swung the momentum.
"That was the key play in my mind," Elmore said. "It picked us up."
Colin Clark's 27-yard field goal with 8:14 to play in the third quarter gave West Memphis a 24-14 lead, but the Wolves wouldn't fold.
Justin Crutchmer scored on a 38-yard touchdown run as Lake Hamilton pulled closer, but Moore kept the Blue Devils' offense percolating with a 58-yard touchdown run with 9:31 left.
Leading 31-28 inside two minutes to play, West Memphis' sack leader, Davion Eason, buried Lake Hamilton quarterback Zach Bradley in the end zone with 1:06 to play to clinch the victory.
Sports on 11/23/2019