PALESTINE -- There is no substitution for speed. Pea Ridge found that out first-hand Friday.
While Pea Ridge held the high-octane Palestine-Wheatley Patriots' offense in check for three quarters Friday night, the fourth quarter belonged to the Patriots -- especially junior quarterback Fred Leak -- who was a one-man wrecking crew at Patriot Field,
Rushing for 213 yards and three scores and throwing for another as No. 6 Palestine-Wheatley rallied for 21 fourth-quarter points to beat Pea Ridge 34-14 in the second round of the Class AA playoffs.
The Patriots (11-1) continue on to the quarterfinals and will host unbeaten Barton next week.
Pea Ridge's season ends at 7-4.
In the regular season P-W averaged 45 points and led the state with 456 yards of total offense per game.
Led by Leak, the speedy Patriots finished Friday's game with 299 yards rushing and 371 yards of offense.
But it wasn't a defensive effort to be ashamed of, especially on the road.
Leak, though, was the difference, Pea Ridge coach Mike Harrod said afterward.
"Film never can let you know how fast a guy is and they were just a lot faster than us," he said. "Leak, I feel like, is probably one of the best backs in AA football. He is incredible. I knew he was good and told everybody he's good but he's a lot better than what I realized."
Pea Ridge led 14-13 to start the fourth quarter but Leak had a big hand in directing the Patriots to touchdowns on all three of their second-half possessions.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, facing third-and-long at the Pea Ridge 49, Leak rolled out right and connected with Rashun Barnes for a 49-yard touchdown pass.
Leak then ran in the two-point conversion and P-W was ahead for good.
The Patriots love to run, coach Terry Farmer said, but at that point in the game passing was their best bet. Leak finished 3-of-6 for 73 yards. All the completions were in the second half.
"Pea Ridge took everything else away and I have to give them a whole lot of credit," said P-W Coach Terry Farmer. "Our kids did a good job and stepped up and made a play. Leak put it right on the money and Barnes)made a good catch."
Following their big scoring pass, the Patriots got a 5-yard scoring run from Leak on the next drive to go up 27-14 with 4:38 left.
Leak added another score two minutes later after Pea Ridge1s Steven Woods fumbled at his own 24.
"Pea Ridge, I tell you, is very well coached; and a good football team," Farmer said. "We got some breaks there, and it paid off for us."
Though trailing at the half, Pea Ridge came out and took all the momentum thanks to a 74-yard, 16-play drive that took almost all of the third quarter.
Quarterback Cody Woodward scored from the 1 on fourth-and-goal with 1:55 left in the period to cap the Blackhawks' opening drive. They converted three third-down plays on the drive as well as Woodward1s fourth-down scoring run.
"Those guys were coming off the ball," Farmer said. "We haven't seen an offensive line like that all year. They did an awesome job."
The Blackhawks couldn't have asked for a better start, forcing P-W to punt after three plays to start the game and getting good field position.
They moved into scoring position almost as quickly.
Barnett rambled 39 yards down to the 3 on Pea Ridge1s first offensive play of the game and Woodward took it in from the one, two plays later for a quick 7-0 lead.
Daniel Wilkerson recovered a squib kick at the 35-yard line to keep possession with the Blackhawks but they couldn't capitalize.
Pea Ridge had first-and-goal at the 3 but the Patriot defense kept four consecutive runs out of the end zone to take over on downs.
Leak then raced around the right side and down the sideline for 63 yards on the following possession but the PAT was wide right and Pea Ridge kept the lead at 7-6.
The Blackhawks didn't muster much offense the rest of the half. The Patriots took the lead just before halftime when Barnes scored from nine yards out and the made the score 13-7.
Leak had 128 yards rushing by the half on only nine carries and the Patriots had 201 yards on the ground after two quarters.
Barnett led Pea Ridge with 124 yards on 28 carries.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
At times it wasn't a pretty game. In fact, most of the time, Friday's second-round Class AA playoff game between Hughes and Mountainburg was downright ugly.
There were far too many penalty flags thrown -- against both teams -- and for the most part both defensive units were almost nonexistent.
But there was plenty of offense, especially in the first half and most of it came on the ground as expected.
Following a first half that lasted almost and hour and a half, Hughes took advantage of a second quarter fumble by Mountainburg to turn a 23-22 lead into a comfortable 35-22 halftime lead. They carried that momentum into the second half to post a 56-28 win over the Dragons at Blue Devil Stadium.
The Blue Devils, who jumped to the No. 7 slot in the Class AA state polls, advance to play No 3 seed Junction City in next week's quarterfinals -- a rematch of last year's quarterfinal game when Junction City rolled up Hughes 56-0.
Junction City lost in the AA semifinals a year ago to Harding Academy, who went on to defeat Danville in the finals.
For the Mountainburg Dragons, who won their first-ever playoff game under head coach Tom Harrell last week, the season ended near midfield as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Hughes seniors Andre Walker and Ayodele Ogunsakin carried the offensive load for the Blue Devils as Walker ran for more than 200 yards and scored four of Hughes' eight touchdowns.
Walker had 197 yards by the half. Ogunsakin finished with 173 yards and two touchdowns.
The Blue Devils scored on their first five possessions of the game and added three more touchdowns in the second half.
Mountainburg scored on its first three possessions and led 8-0 and 16-8 before Hughes tied the game at 16-16 before the Dragons edged back in front 22-16.
Hughes took a 23-22 lead with 7:26 to play in half and then capitalized on Mountainburg's fumble on the team's fourth possession of the first half.
That play signaled the beginning of the end for the Dragons
Mountainburg lost the ball near midfield and Hughes' Cameron Jackson recovered at the Mountainburg 49. Six plays later, Ogunsakin scored from 14 yards away to push their lead to 29-22.
Another Mountainburg miscue on the next possession led to another Blue Devil touchdown when Dragons' punter Mitchell Weaver fielded the snap on a fourth and nine punt going down to one knee and was ruled down by the officials at his own two.
Walker scored from two yards out and Hughes led 35-22, which held at the half.
The Blue Devils scored on the opening possession of the second half to make it 42-22. Walker's fourth touchdown run, a 4-yard effort with 2:36 to play in the third made it 49-22 after Brian Hillis' PAT kick.
Marcus Washington tacked on the final Hughes score, running 38 yards for the touchdown with 1:44 to play in the game.
Mountainburg quarterback Dillon Carr got things rolling to open the game scoring from 5 yards out after taking the first snap of the game 44 yarads to the Hughes 22. Three plays later, the Dragons led 8-0.
Hughes tied the game at 8-8, before the Dragons regained a 16-8 lead.
Finally, Carr found Weaver for a 50-yard touchdown pass to move in front 22-16 with 10 minutes to play in the second quarter.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Finally, Forrest City Lady Mustang Coach Sue Jayroe had a reason to smile over the weekend.
Saturday, her Lady Mustangs broke through for the team's first win of the year, defeating North Pulaski 62-49 in the third and final game at the Heavenly Hoopfest Tournament played at Mount St. Mary's in Little Rock.
Forrest City lost the first two games of the tournament to begin the year at 0-2.
The Lady Mustangs will not play again until Saturday, when they take on Pulaski Academy in an exhibition girls' game at the Rumble on the Ridge Thanksgiving tournament.
That game will tip at 6:30 p.m. at Mustang Arena.
Against North Pulaski, Trina Wynne, who came off the bench, led the way, scoring 17 points while Viveca Kimble added 14 points and junior forward Sequoria Grady helped out with 12 points and 10 blocked shots. Torrie Willis added seven points and Shari Rogers chipped in two.
If there was a down side to the victory, it came on both the defensive and offensive rebounding.
The lady Mustangs had just 17 rebounds total for the entire game -- 14 on the defensive side and only three offensive rebounds. Of those 17 rebounds, Grady grabbed eight.
"We have to get better on the boards," Jayroe said. "That is a must. In the last two games, we have had less than 20 rebounds for the whole game. We will work on that."
The Lady Mustangs led 16-7 after the first period and 34-28 at the half.
North Pulaski closed the gap a little in the third, trailing by just three points, 43-40 after three periods.
Forrest City outscored the Lady Falcons 19-to-9 in the fourth to make the final.
*Friday night, the Forrest City junior varsity Lady Mustangs put forth a solid effort but fell to Marianna 46-40.
Shari Rogers led Forrest City with 14 points, including four three-pointers, while her niece, LaShundra Rogers added eight points. Shardavia Davis had six and sophomore Tosha Mills had four points.
Forrest City led 13-11 after one period and 23-21 at the half before Marianna rallied in the third period to take a 31-29 lead to start the fourth quarter.
*The Forrest City Mustangs picked up their first win of the season Friday, putting away Marianna 68-54.
The Mustangs opened the season last week at Little Rock central losing by two points to the Tigers.
The Mustangs will open play Thursday, Nov. 27, at the seventh annual Rumble on the Ridge tournament.
Forrest City will play Provine, Miss., at 6:30 p.m.
In the win over Marianna, head coach Dwight Lofton said the Mustangs improved their free throw shooting, hitting 12-of-16 from the line. Against Central, the team hit just 11-of-24.
*In junior high basketball action tonight, Forrest City plays at Marianna.
CROSSETT -- Ray Charles Tucker scored two second-half touchdowns to lead Crossett to a 24-14 win Friday night over Wynne in a Class AAAA playoff game.
In semifinal action Friday,, Crossett (12-0) travels to Vilonia (11-1), which topped Harrison 20-7 in another AAAA playoff contest Friday.
Wynne (9-3) lost five of six fumbles, including two early in the third quarter that led to quick scores.
The Yellowjackets led 7-3 at the half, but fumbled the kickoff to start the second half. With 10:31 left in the third quarter, Crossett quarterback Stetson Moon hit Martinez Modisette with a 24-yard touchdown pass.
On the ensuing kickoff, Wynne fumbled again and Crossett recovered. With 9:04 left in the third, Ray Charles Tucker ran 1 yard for the score and added the extra point to push the margin to 17-7.