Charging Wildcats ramp up run game

Defending conference champion North Little Rock had three players rush for at least 100 yards in a 31-20 victory over Little Rock Central in the 7A-Central opener on a sticky Friday night at Quigley Stadium at Bernie Cox Field in Little Rock.

The Charging Wildcats (40) recorded their 10th consecutive victory over the Tigers (1-3), their 14th consecutive conference victory and the team’s 20th consecutive regular-season triumph.

Central led 20-17 at halftime but was overwhelmed in the second half as North Little Rock rushed for 290 yards to finish with 444 on 50 attempts.

“They’re my kind of old school kind of football — line up and run right at ’em,” Central Coach Ellis “Scooter” Register said.

Junior tailback Oscar Adaway, who played for Central as a freshman and sophomore, ran 15 times for 155 yards and 1 touchdown and also caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback David Chapple late in the first quarter.

Sophomore tailback Brandon Thomas ran 12 times for 127 yards and a 17-yard touchdown that stretched North Little Rock’s lead to 31-20 with 9:29 remaining in the game.

Junior fullback Tyler Day ran 12 times for 100 yards, including the go-ahead 1-yard touchdown with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter.

Chapple added 63 rushing yards on nine carries.

North Little Rock, which lost fumbles at the Central 4 and 1, had 473 total yards.

“Really, really proud of our offensive line,” Charging Wildcats Coach Jamie Mitchell said. “We’ve got three really good running backs. That’s one of our strengths.”

Senior Savana Melton was 4 of 4 on extra-point attempts and kicked a 31-yard field goal for a 10-7 North Little Rock lead with 11:48 remaining in the first half.

Central senior quarterback Jacob Howard completed 14 of 31 passes for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Junior wide receiver Demarcus Yancy had 6 receptions for 84 yards and a 12-yard touchdown that gave Central a 14-10 lead with 6:03 remaining in the first half.

After Adaway ran 44 yards for a touchdown at 3:43, Howard’s 1-yard scoring run with 11 seconds remaining in the second quarter gave the Tigers a 20-17 halftime lead.

Central opened the game with a 13-play, 74-yard drive, capped by Howard’s 37-yard pass to senior wide receiver Donald Richardson with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter.

The Tigers managed only 50 total yards in the final 24 minutes.

NO. 4 GREENWOOD 38, TEXARKANA 17

TEXARKANA — Texarkana (2-2, 0-1 6A-West) fell to visiting Greenwood (40, 1-0).

Quarterback Connor Noland started the scoring for the Bulldogs in the first quarter, connecting with senior wideout Peyton Holt on a 17-yard touchdown with 10:36 remaining.

Texarkana led 17-13 at halftime after Drake Browning’s 46-yard touchdown run with 1:24 remaining in the first half.

Greenwood responded with 18 points in the third quarter to put the game away. After a field goal, Noland hit Kenny Wood with 5:16 left in the third quarter to put Greenwood up for good at 24-17.

Noland finished 10-of-19 passing for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Irijah Price had 8 catches for 123 yards and 1 touchdown for Texarkana.

NO. 7 EL DORADO 35, LAKE HAMILTON 13

EL DORADO — El Dorado (4-0, 1-0 6A-West) forced five turnovers in a victory over Lake Hamilton (2-2, 0-1).

Donovan Walter returned a fumble 94 yards for a touchdown. Kameron Bowie had two interceptions and Bishop Foster also picked off a pass. Tyrek Rucks recovered a fumble for the Wildcats.

El Dorado quarterback Darius Holly completed 12 of 17 passes for 284 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Taliq Ellis caught 5 passes for 174 yards and 1 touchdown. Richard Kesee rushed for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 carries.

Malik Brewer had a 67-yard touchdown run and Utah Aiken threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Jacob Nichols for the Wolves.

NO. 8 BENTONVILLE WEST 43, VAN BUREN 28

VAN BUREN — Jadon Jackson caught 7 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown to lead Bentonville West (4-0, 1-0 7A-West) past Van Buren (0-4, 0-1).

Jackson also had a rushing touchdown.

Will Jarrett completed 12 of 19 passes for 275 yards and 1 touchdown. Jonas Higson rushed for 67 yards and 1 touchdown on 9 carries.

Brandon Humes returned a blocked field goal 67 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter for the Wolverines, who led 36-7 at halftime.

Van Buren was led by Caleb Salisbury, who finished 14-of-29 passing for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns.