Arkadelphia (11-0) gets offense rolling, drops Rivercrest

ARKADELPHIA — Class 4A’s top-ranked team got a much-needed test Friday night, but the final outcome was the same as it’s been all season for the Badgers.

Donovan Whitten threw five touchdown passes as Arkadelphia wore down and beat Rivercrest 48-13 in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state quarterfinals at Allcare Field.

Four different players caught touchdowns from Whitten, who finished 14-of-23 passing for 188 yards, to send the Badgers to the semifinals for the second season in a row. The victory was also the ninth consecutive time that Arkadelphia (11-0) has beaten an opponent by 28 points or more.

But the early going weren’t at all easy for the Badgers.

Arkadelphia led 21-13 at halftime before taking over in the second half.

“We had a lot of things not go our way,” Arkadelphia Coach Trey Schucker said. “I know the score doesn’t reflect that, but we had some things happen that didn’t help us out in certain situations that could’ve went our way but didn’t. We overcame it, though, and I’m very proud of our guys for keeping a level head all the way through.

“The defense stepped up big because Rivercrest has put up a lot of points this year, and they’ve got some very talented players over there. But we did a good job, especially in big situations.

Tripp Campbell, Evan Bailey, LaTonnieo Hughes and Ja’Quavus Purifoy all had touchdown catches for the Badgers, who will play at Harding Academy next week in the semifinals. Purifoy hauled in two scoring passes, while DeAngelo Buckley carried 8 times for 117 yards with 2 touchdowns. Kyle Reed also rushed for 74 yards on 14 carries for Arkadelphia.

Michael Rainer ran 23 times for 145 yards and Koby Turner had 79 yards on 14 attempts for Rivercrest (9-4), which had won eight straight games. But the Colts saw their upset hopes take a big blow late in the second quarter when starting quarterback Cavonta Washington went down after being hit on a pass attempt with just over two minutes left in the half. That forced the Colts to rely heavily on their run game, which was effective in the first half.

But his injury also allowed the Badgers to load up to combat what Rivercrest was doing on the ground.

“It made us one-dimensional,” Rivercrest Coach Johnny Fleming said. “[Arkadelphia] has a little more depth than what we have, but for us, that’s not an excuse. They played better than we did in this one.

“But our guys fought, and I can’t say enough about that. We’ve got a bunch of juniors coming back, so the future looks good. Still, I hate for it to end this way for our seniors, but we all fought to the end.”

Arkadelphia did hit the Colts quickly on its opening possession. After forcing a punt, the Badgers drove 36 yards in six snaps, with Whitten finding Bailey in the left corner of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown with 9:16 left in the first quarter.

Rivercrest swung back immediately on its next series. After being pinned inside its 5, Washington found Rainer streaking down the right sideline for a 92-yard score that tied it at 7-7.

Whitten allowed the Badgers to reclaim the lead with 3:06 to go in the quarter on a 13-yard touchdown pass to Campbell, but the Colts galloped right back. Rivercrest moved 67 yards on 13 running plays and scored when Turner bullied over from 3 yards out with 9:59 remaining in the second quarter. The extra-point attempt was wide left, however, which left Arkadelphia with a 14-13 lead.

The Badgers would add to their advantage with 2:51 showing in the half when Whitten tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Purifoy. Washington would go down on the following possession for Rivercrest, which ultimately put them in an even tougher spot.

Arkadelphia’s special teams got things going in the second half on a blocked punt with 7:32 showing. Three plays later, Whitten rifled in a 17-yard touchdown pass to Hughes.

“We did do some good things,” Schucker said. “There were times offensively where it felt like we weren’t clicking, but we found a way to put some points on the board when we absolutely had to have them.”

Kelbern Middleton picked off a pass shortly thereafter for the Badgers, leading to Purifoy’s second touchdown grab — a 7-yarder — to give the Badgers a 34-13 lead. Buckley would later account for Arkadelphia’s final two scores, scoring on 7- and 52-yard runs.

“I’ve got to look at the film pretty good, but I know we’ve got to clean some things up,” Schucker said. “It took us a little bit to get going, but Rivercrest did a good job of scheming us and forcing us to do some things that caused our rhythm to be off.

“But the good thing about it all is that we’re still playing. We’ve got really good players that made plays, and that’s what it came down to.”

HARDING ACADEMY 29, MCGEHEE 20

SEARCY — Owen Miller threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns and added another on the ground as Harding Academy (10-0) advanced past McGehee (7-3).

McGehee took an early lead in the first quarter with a 60-yard touchdown run from Tyrique Newman. The Owls extended the margin to 14-0 before halftime, scoring on a 68-yard pass from Ky Bell to Newman.

Harding Academy rallied in the third quarter as Miller connected with Kyler Hoover on a 28-yard touchdown pass.

Harding Academy scored again in the third quarter behind Miller, who connected with Hoover on a 28-yard touchdown pass and later scored on a 33yard run to narrow the Wildcats’ deficit to 14-13. On the ensuing extra-point try, holder Jack Citty picked up a bad snap and ran it in for a two-point conversion, putting Harding Academy up 15-14.

The Wildcats extended their lead to 22-14 in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Miller to Hoover.

McGehee responded with a 46-yard touchdown run from Newman, but Harding Academy put the game away with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Miller to Landon Koch.

Newman finished with 17 carries for 152 yards and accounted for all 3 of McGehee’s touchdowns.

MALVERN 27, WARREN 21, OT

WARREN — Quarterback Cedric Simmons connected with Dyelon Caradine for a 9-yard touchdown in overtime to give Malvern (10-2) a victory over Warren (10-2).

Simmons completed 9 of 19 passes for 139 yards and the game-winning touchdown. He also ran 18 times for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Jalen Dupree had a big game for the Leopards, finishing with 32 carries for 196 yards. He scored two touchdowns, with one of them coming on a 63-yard run.

CLASS 3A QUARTERFINALS MELBOURNE 21, GLEN ROSE 20

MALVERN — Scoring all 21 of their points in the first half, Melbourne held off Glen Rose, pitching a fourth-quarter shutout at Beaver Stadium to advance to the Class 3A state semifinals.

The Bearkats were led by quarterback Trey Wren, who completed 14 of 21 passes for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns. Melbourne (12-0) also got a rushing touchdown from Wren, and the visitors’ defense held the Beavers to 12-of-24 passing for 112 yards and an interception.

Glen Rose (9-3) got the brunt of its offense from running back Heath Ballance — the junior carried 27 times for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns.

RISON 34, PRESCOTT 29

RISON — Rison intercepted a Prescott pass near the end zone with 14 seconds left to play as the Wildcats knocked off the previously unbeaten Curley Wolves in a Class 3A quarterfinal game.

Prescott (11-1) took a 29-28 lead with 8:32 remaining when running back Travion Dickens scored on a 5-yard run. Quarterback Carston Poole then passed to P.J. Gulley for the 2-point conversion, giving the Wolves a one-point lead.

Rison (10-1) then drove for the goahead touchdown, with running back Kelven Hadley plunging in from the 1 with 2:10 to play.

Hadley ran the ball 30 times for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Wildcats. He also caught a touchdown pass.

Prescott threatened on its final possession, with the Wolves driving to the Rison 28. But on fourth and 16, Poole’s hurried pass was intercepted by a Rison defender near the 5. The Wildcats then took a knee to run out the clock and preserve the victory.

Dickens scored three touchdowns on runs of 11, 39 and 5 yards. He also caught a 2-point conversion pass from Poole in the third quarter.

Gulley had the other Prescott touchdown on a 24-yard pass from Poole.

CLASS 2A QUARTERFINALS CARLISLE 25, MOUNT IDA 20

CARLISLE — Jason Sullivan rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns to lead Carlisle (10-1) over Mount Ida (8-3).

The Bison were fueled by a strong ground game, finishing with 303 rushing yards.

Mount Ida’s Lane Nolen ran for 47 yards and had another 85 yards as a receiver, including a 52-yard touchdown catch.

HAZEN 56, EAST POINSETT COUNTY 16

HAZEN — Hazen overcame an early deficit to defeat East Poinsett County in the Class 2A state semifinal and advance to the championship game.

East Poinsett County (10-3) took an 8-0 lead on a quarterback sneak by Carter Smith.

Hazen (12-0) responded shortly after with a passing touchdown from quarterback Luke King to Braylon Anderson to make it 8-6.

EPC extended its lead with a short rushing touchdown from running back Dennis Gaines to make it 14-6, but that lead wouldn’t last much longer.

Less than a minute later, Hazen scored on a rushing touchdown to make it 1412. In the second quarter, King passed for two touchdowns and Hazen also rushed for one to take a 34-14 lead into halftime.

Hazen rushed for two touchdowns and returned an interception for a third score in the second half.