By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Forrest City's victories over Jonesboro in recent years have been few but Friday's 21-20 win over the Hurricane in the second annual Hall of Fame Game will go down as one of the best.
Maybe not for the Hurricane, who turned the football over six times on fumbles, but surely for the Mustangs who rediscovered their offense as well as the will to win.
Forrest City (3-1 overall, 1-0) rolled up 171 total yards against Jonesboro (2-2, 1-1) after being held to less than 100 total yards against Newport.
Five different Forrest City backs carried the ball and while no one back had outstanding yardage, they all produced, led by the re-emergence of senior tailback Montrell Ashcraft.
Ashcraft finished with 41 yards on eight carries and had three tackles on defense. Quarterback Justin Edwards picked up 27 yards on 12 carries but more importantly tossed three touchdown passes -- connecting on 11-of-23 attempts for 82 yards with one interception.
Jonesboro took a 7-0 lead with 2:51 to play in the first quarter when Jimmy Tollison scored from 16-yards out.
It stayed that way through the half as neither team moved the ball in the second quarter.
The Mustangs tied the game midway through the third quarter when Edwards found senior receiver Jesse Ballard for the 16-yard scoring pass with 7:37 to play.
Jonesboro answered on the next possession, using eight plays to cover 56 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, a five-yard run by junior fullback Wilford Vincent with 4:22 showing.
The PAT put the Hurricane in front 14-7.
The remainder of the third quarter was scoreless and Jonesboro opened the fourth quarter still on top.
Both teams fumbled early in the final quarter but it was Jonesboro's fourth fumble with 7:37 to play, recovered by Mustang senior Adrian Warren, that gave the Mustangs the break they were looking for.
Starting from the Jonesboro 25, Forrest City scored four plays later when Edwards found Jeff Bradley for the 17-yard scoring pass with 5:18 to play. The two-point pass to Theodis Haggins put the Mustangs up by one, 15-14.
Jonesboro regained the lead with 3:37 to play when Antonio Burton scored from a yard out, but the extra point try was blocked, leaving the Hurricane in front by just five points, 20-15.
Jonesboro appeared to lock up the victory on Forrest City's next possession when Will Hollis intercepted an Edwards pass but was stripped by Eric Jimmerson on the return. Jimmerson returned the turnover to the Jonesboro 28 and five plays later, with 21 seconds left, Edwards connected with Demarcus Lockett for the winning touchdown.
Jonesboro fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Mustangs ran out the clock.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Palestine-Wheatley senior tailback Ray Gardner scored all three touchdowns Friday night to lead the Patriots to a 3AA conference opening win over Rector, 22-0.
Gardner finished with 210 rushing yards on 24 carries to help Palestine-Wheatley improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the league.
Gardner, in four games, has 478 yards and has scored six touchdowns.
Quinton Mason ran for 109 yards on 10 carries while Brandon Roberts added 68 yards on 12 carries for the Patriots.
Gardner opened the scoring with a three-yard TD run in the first quarter and added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. With 3:28 to play in the second quarter, Gardner found the endzone from two-yards out and again tacked on the two-point play as the Patriots built their haftime lead to 16-0.
Gardner's third touchdown of the game came with 3:32 to play in the fourth quarter when he ran 14 yards for the score. The two-point conversion failed.
Roberts had a touchdown called back. Roberts has run for more than 300 yards in four games this season.
Rector, 0-3 overall and 0-1, never came close to scoring in the game.
P-W newcomer, noseguard Kenny Long led the defensive effort with 15 solo tackles and one sack.
PB Dollarway 50, Hughes 14
The PB Dollarway Cardinals gave up 203 rushing yards to Hughes' tailback Andre Walker, but still had more than enough to race to a 50-14 win Friday night.
Dollarway quarterback Eddie Ringo diced and sliced the Hughes' defense for 271 passing yards and four touchdowns in the 6AAA Conference opener for both teams.
The Cardinals outscored Hughes the Blue Devils 29-0 in the second half after taking a 21-14 halftime lead.
Dollarway's Chris Evans had his third consecutive game with more than 100 receiving yards.
Hughes slips to 2-2 for the year and 0-1 in the league while Pine Bluff improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0.
Hughes will host Lonoke Friday.
The Forrest City Junior Varsity Mustangs will host West Memphis tonight at Sam Smith Stadium.
Kick off is set for 7 p.m. The JV Mustangs are 1-0 for the year.
The Forrest City youth flag football league starts tonight at the Sports Complex.
The league, in its second full season, has six teams.
The games will be played on the outfield portion of Field 8.
The games will be played each Monday through Oct. 29, beginning at 6 p.m.