Trojans fall in heartbreaking fashion on Henderson campus

ARKADELPHIA — Hot Springs head coach Darrell Burnett almost won big on the field where he played college football.

Inside Henderson State’s Carpenter-Haygood Stadium, the Trojans (1-1) led Arkadelphia 20-7 early in the third quarter.

Later, with Hot Springs ahead 28-21, Arkadelphia (2-0) scored a touchdown as time expired before completing the two-point conversion for a 29-28 win over Hot Springs.

“We should’ve, would’ve, could’ve, you know,” Burnett said. “Burnt a timeout that came and bit us in the rear at the end of the game. Missed some extra points that came and bit us in the rear at the end. You know, small things.”

Burnett emphasized that the timeout could have helped later in the contest and that the Trojans need to fix their kicking game after a shaky two games to start the season. However, there were also other moments throughout the contest where Hot Springs could have put the game to bed.

“It’s a collection of everything,” Burnett said. “When you get defensive stops you’ve got to capitalize. You know we had them on the ropes I think right at 20-7. We had a few times where we got a stop where we just needed to score. You know it could’ve made them one sided where they had to chunk it around instead of run their big quarterback. Things of that nature. You’ve got to have a sense of urgency.”

Burnett added that when playing a championship level program like Arkadelphia, the team has to capitalize on the minor aspects of the game. Although he said the Trojans do not take moral victories, there were definitely positives to take from the tough battle against the No. 1 Class 4A team.

“We handled adversity,” Burnett said. “Biggest thing was we converted some big third downs. We converted on some defensive stoppages. We did a lot of things good, man, you know. It’s just that when you lose it doesn’t seem like it.

Hot Springs’ Matthew Contreras put in another quality performance for the Trojans in his second start.

“Derrick Hicks played really well,” Burnett said. “Quarterback Matthew Contreras had over 250 something passing yards and over 100 rushing. Octavious Rhodes played really well. Xavier Parker manned both sides of the ball, offensive line and D-line. Demarious Porter played good too with a couple of sacks. There actually should’ve been a fumble on one of them.”

Burnett said the performance made his program feel like “you belong a little bit.”

“I’m not going to say that you made a statement,” he said. “You don’t make a statement unless you win.”

JUNIOR RAMS DOMINATE RUSSELLVILLE

The Lakeside junior high football team blanked Russellville 30-0 Thursday night.

The junior Rams opened the scoring on a 39-yard touchdown run by Beau Brock with 6:34 left to play in the first quarter. Brock tacked on the two-point conversion for an early 8-0 lead.

After a stout stand from the Lakeside defense, Brock punched it in from the 3-yard line, and Wally Wolcott found Luke Wrublesky for the two-point conversion.

Wolcott struck early in the second quarter when he found Drew Morgan for a 47-yard touchdown pass. Sam Luse added an extra point for a 23-0 junior Ram advantage.

Lakeside set the final when Wolcott connected with AJay Burns on a 17-yard touchdown pass, and Luse knocked in the point after attempt. Wolcott finished 13-for-15 with 207 yards and two scores.

Brock tallied 145 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, and Drew Morgan added four receptions for 81 yards and a score. Burns finished with four catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Deklan McKinney led the junior Rams with seven tackles, and Preston DeGrasse and Kavan Morgan each had an interception.

The eighth grade Rams took down Russellville 30-14. Lakeside took an early lead when Emerson Collins found Quardarius Jackson for a 47-yard touchdown pass. Collins kept it himself for the two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

Jackson put Lakeside ahead 14-8 after a 16-yard touchdown scamper. Collins connected with Ethan Hornbeck on the two-point attempt for a 16-8 Lakeside edge.

Coming out of the half ahead 16-14, Collins scored on a 36-yard carry before Jackson scored on the conversion attempt for a 24-14 lead. With 1:12 to play in the game, Collins returned an interception to the house to set the final.

MALVERN STOMPS GLEN ROSE

MALVERN — Malvern tallied 659 yards of total offense in the Leopards’ 59-20 win over Glen Rose Friday.

Malvern quarterback Cedric Simmons went 8-for-12 passing for 220 yards and two scores. Jalen Dupree was Simmons’ favorite target, racking up 117 yards and a score on four receptions.

Dupree also led Malvern (2-0) on the ground. He carried the ball 13 times for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Donta Cagle added 123 yards and two scores on just two carries. Simmons helped in the running game as well, picking up 70 yards and three touchdowns on 11 attempts.

Arric Clegg and Romere Bennett led the way on defense for the Leopards, each tallying 12 total tackles. Clegg accounted for 11 solo tackles, and Bennett had 10 solo stops.

CENTERPOINT EDGES MENA

MENA — For the second consecutive week, Centerpoint beat an opponent by two points.

The Knights (2-0) skipped past Hackett 34-32 in Week Zero and followed it up with a 15-13 win over Mena Friday night.

After a scoreless first quarter, Centerpoint took an 8-7 lead into halftime. The Knights added seven points in the third quarter and led 15-7 heading into the game’s final quarter. Mena was able to score six in the fourth but could not complete the comeback.