Searcy topples Morrilton

SEARCY 51, MORRILTON 17

SEARCY — Long after Friday night’s football game between Searcy and Morrilton was no longer in doubt, Searcy senior cornerback Bobby Graham made a play that rewarded those who stuck around.

Already up 45-17 with just over five minutes left at Searcy’s Lion Stadium, Morrilton (2-1) had driven to the Searcy 12, searching for some late points that could provide a smidgen of confidence going into 5A-West Conference play next week.

Devil Dogs’ junior quarterback Dylan White looked left and tossed a high-arcing pass toward the end zone.

At first, it looked as if it would sail over the pylon and out of bounds, but Graham launched from the 5 like a NASA rocket and snagged the pass with his outstretched right hand. He turned it into a 95-yard touchdown return for the final points of Searcy’s 51-17 victory.

“It was pure reaction,” said Graham, who had two interceptions in the game. “Ball stuck to my glove so I was like, ‘I got to do something with this.’ ”

Third-year Searcy Coach Mark Kelley could remember his thoughts clearly on the play.

“He’s a freak, and that he was about to go score,” said Kelley, whose team is 3-0. “He’s an incredible athlete. And we’re just excited that he’s a part of our program.”

Graham’s interception return was an exclamation mark to Searcy’s dominance.

The Devil Dogs turned the ball over on downs in two of their first three drives, and each one was met with a touchdown pass by Searcy senior quarterback Mason Schucker, who finished the game 14-of-27 passing for 447 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Searcy scored after all four Morrilton turnovers. The Lions scored two touchdowns after two Morrilton interceptions, a field goal after another, and a touchdown after a fumble recovery.

“Every time it looked like we’d cut it to one score, they’d make a play,” Morrilton Coach Cody McNabb said.

Searcy had threw two interceptions and turned the ball over on downs twice, but Morrilton did not score after any of those occasions.

Searcy led 21-0 before Morrilton scored its first touchdown, a 14-yard pass from sophomore Jacolby Criswell to senior Laken Dillard that was tipped by Graham.

Criswell split quarterback time with White, and the two combined for 305 passing yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions.

Next week, Searcy will play at Jacksonville and Morrilton will play at Harrison.