By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
JACKSONVILLE--The Forrest City Mustangs went to halftime Friday night with just 23 total yards of offense against the Jacksonville Red Devils.
Two first quarter Jacksonville touchdowns put the Mustangs in a 14-0 hole from which they never recovered finally falling to the Red Devils, 28-0 in AAAAA-East play at Jan Crow Stadium.
Jacksonville improves to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the conference and stays in second place. Forrest City, fighting to stay in the postseason chase, falls to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the league and into a four-way tie for fourth place.
Little Rock Mills moved into sole possession of third place after stopping Jonesboro 22-21 in four overtimes Friday.
The Mustangs finished with 103 total yards -- 39 on the ground and 64 through the air.
Jacksonville put up 267 yards, 242 of that coming on the ground.
Jacksonville's Alexander Mack intercepted Forrest City quarterbacks Justin Edwards and Austin Easley four times, three of those in the first half.
"It was a good win," head coach Johnny Watson said. "We had no idea we would win by this much."
The Red Devils took a quick 7-0 lead on their first possession when Matt Towner scored from three-yards out with 8:44 to play. The point after kick by James Paul was good.
Towner's score capped a 58 yard drive by jacksonville in six plays.
Seven minutes later, with the ball on the Forrest City 36-yard line, Forrest City quarterback Justin Edwards went to tight end Eric Jimmerson but Mack was there for his first interception of the night, returning the effort 42 yards for the touchdown with 1:14 to play. The point after kick put Jacksonville in front 14-0.
Paul's kick-off went into the end zone, giving the Mustangs the ball at their own 20-yard line.
Two running plays by the Mustangs netted only one yard and Edwards' pass attempt was picked off by a Red Devil defender and returned to Forrest City six-yard line.
Quarterback Chris Rodriguez, on a keeper from the two, made it 20-0 with 11:51 showing in the second quarter and Paul added the kick.
The Mustangs finally crossed midfield late in the second quarter and Edwards tried to find Jimmerson again, this time on a deep 30-yard pass. The result was the same as before, a Mack interception.
However, the Red Devils couldn't take advantage of the gift, losing a yard in three plays.
Forrest City's best chance to score came late in the first half with 2:19 to play when they recovered a fumble by Jacksonville's Shaun Conway fumble at the Red Devils' 11-yard line. With Easley in at quarterback, Forrest City lost eight yards in three plays.
Facing a fourth and 17 from the 18, Easley's pass was intercepted by Mack, this time in the end zone for a touchback.
Jacksonville tacked on the final touchdown of the game in the third quarter when Brandon Nelson fielded a Mustang punt on his own 24-yard line and returned it 26 yards, crossing midfield before being pulled down.
From there the Red Devil offense picked up only four yards on three tries and were faced with a fourth and five at the Forrest City 46.
Jacksonville picked up the first down off a fake punt to Dominic Harris.
The Red Devils moved to the Forrest City 26 before Brian Noble broke down the home side on a pitch from Nelson for the score.
Mack opened the fourth quarter with his fourth interception of the night, grabbing a 13-yard pass in the end zone.
Forrest City will close out the season at home, host Sylvan Hills Friday night and West Memphis on Nov. 2, at Sam Smith Stadium.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Hughes Blue Devils held off DeWitt with less than a minute to play in the game Friday and held on for a 28-27 win in a key 6AAA Conference game at Blue Devil Stadium. The victory gave the Blue Devils a playoff spot in the Class AAA playoffs.
The win keeps the Blue Devils in a tie for second place in the league with Brinkley, 28-6 winners over Lonoke Friday.
Both the Blue Devils and Tigers are 3-1 in the league standings.
Hughes will host Brinkley Friday night in a game that will most likley determine the league's second-place team. Hughes closes out the year on Nov. 2 against Dumas.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
PALESTINE--The Palestine-Wheatley Patriots clinched a Class AA state playoff berth Friday night, using a 19-6 homecoming win over Earle.
Still in doubt for the Patriots, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the 3AA Conference, is in what playoff spot they will finish regular season and begin postseason.
The 6-2 start equals the best start ever by the 1997 Patriot team which was 6-2 after its first eight games.
Following Friday's win, the Patriots are in a second-place tie with Salem, their season-ending opponent on Nov. 2.
It is very likely the two teams will be fighting for second place.
Palestine-Wheatley plays at Parkin this week while Salem will host winless Cross County.
Ray Gardner topped 1,000 rushing yards for the season Friday with 204 yards on 24 carries. But that wasn't all the talented senior tailback did.
Gardner scored on a 55-yard touchdown run with 5:27 to play in the fourth quarter and kicked two field goals and threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to receiver Teddy Matthews.
Gardner also kicked one extra point.
The touchdown pass to Matthews, with six minutes to play in the opening quarter, gave the Patriots a 6-0 lead after the failed two-point try.
Gardner's 29-yard field goal with 29 seconds left in the half sent the Patriots to the half with a 9-0 lead.
Earle scored with 15 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the P-W lead to 9-6 when Willie Thomas scored on a touchdown run.
Gardner made it 16-6 with the 55-yard run and the extra point with 5:27 to play in the game and then with one second showing, Gardner connected on a 24-yard field goal.
A second-place finish in the conference would give the Patriots home field advantage for the first round of the Class AA playoffs against the third-place team from the 6AA Conference.
Barton and Hazen lead that conference with identical 6-0 marks while Des Arc is second at 5-1.
The Patriots hosted their first-ever post season playoff game in 1996 when they lost to Altheimer 14-9 while both schools were still designated Class A.
The Patriots returned to the playoffs in 1997 and 2000, losing both of those first-round games to Barton.