Twin attack

Deon Simmons rushed for 394 yards and 2 touchdowns, and twin brother Keon Simmons had 118 yards and 6 TDs — including the winning 1-yarder on the last play of the game — to lead Mayflower to a 53-46 victory over Smackover in the Class 3A playoffs.

MAYFLOWER — With 1:11 left in a tie game, 68 yards to go and one timeout, Mayflower was just fine with running the football against Smackover.

Mayflower’s twin junior running backs, Deon and Keon Simmons, had already amassed 461 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns, and Mayflower Coach Todd Langrell handed the game to the brothers who had helped the Eagles reach their first undefeated regular season in more than 13 years.

“In our offense, with those two guys, running it is just as effective as throwing a 68-yard pass,” Langrell said, “because they can take it to the house anytime.”

Five Deon runs later, Mayflower (11-0) reached the Smackover 1 with 4 seconds left. The next play was a motion sweep to Keon, who veered across the goal line to beat Smackover 5346 in the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs at Patrick Stadium.

“Our coach told our line to block, and we just cut up field,” said Deon, who finished with 394 yards on 38 carries and 2 touchdowns. “We went all the way downfield and scored.”

Keon finished the game with 118 yards on 17 carries and 6 touchdowns.

Smackover (7-5) recovered from a 33-16 halftime deficit to tie the game at 46 with 1:12 left in the game.

Junior quarterback Roshard Boone led the Buckaroos on consecutive scoring drives. He first lobbed a 55-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Jaqueze Modica that made it 46-38 with 10:19 left in the fourth quarter, and then he lobbed another 30-yard pass to Modica on the following drive, which set up a sixyard touchdown run by Demarous White.

Boone caught a two-point conversion on a reverse-pass play from senior receiver Peyton Jones.

“We lost tonight, but I think that’s the proudest I’ve been of them all year,” Smackover Coach Mike Baysinger said. “From the first quarter to the last quarter. It came down to four seconds left, and stuff happens sometimes. Somebody’s gotta lose.”

It appeared Mayflower would run away with the game when Deon and Keon scored two touchdowns each to give Mayflower a 3416 halftime lead. Deon had 224 halftime rushing yards on 19 carries, including a 49-yard touchdown run with 1:09 left in the half, where he broke two tackles and stiffarmed a defender on his way to the front-left pylon.

Smackover fell behind when it couldn’t score on its final three possessions of the first half, but the Buckaroos opened the second half with a drive that included a 14-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Dettravon Crockett to cut Mayflower’s lead to 33-22 with 9:07 left in the third quarter.

White rushed for 178 yards on 30 carries, and his touchdown runs of 2 and 6 yards came during the second-half surge.

“They kind of gave us a dose of our own medicine,” Langrell said. “We weren’t prepared for that. We’re just glad we have Keon and Deon Simmons.”

Mayflower will advance to the quarterfinals to play Rivercrest (11-2) next week.

CLINTON 48, BENTON HARMONY GROVE 42

CLINTON — Caleb Holman rushed 19 times for 110 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead Clinton (12-0) over Benton Harmony Grove (7-4).

The Yellow Jackets also got 186 yards and 1 touchdown on 23 carries from Weston Amos.

Clinton had 508 yards of total offense with 483 coming on the ground on 63 attempts.

Hunter Hilson accounted for 5 of Harmony Grove’s 6 touchdowns, throwing for 4 and rushing for another. Hilson had 241 yards passing on 19 of 28 attempts with 2 interceptions.

Sean Small had 7 receptions for 115 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Cardinals.

JUNCTION CITY 31, HARDING ACADEMY 30

JUNCTION CITY — Senior running back Hishmma Taylor scored on a 17yard touchdown run and his two-conversion run late in the fourth quarter allowed Junction City (11-0) to defeat Harding Academy (7-5).

Taylor had 147 yards on 38 carries. Senior quarterback Shuvasceiaye Frazier rushed for 267 yards on 30 carries and passed for 100 yards.

CHARLESTON 39, BARTON 34

CHARLESTON – Charleston (12-0) moved to the third round of the Class 3A playoffs, but it had to survive a furious fourth-quarter rally by Barton (10-2).

After seemingly building a comfortable 21-point cushion in the third quarter, the Tigers had to recover an onside kick and run out the final 30 seconds to down the Bears.

Sean Michael Flanagan led the Tigers offensively, scoring 5 touchdowns (3 receiving and 2 rushing). Flanagan had 10 catches for 191 yards and 81 rush yards on 8 carries.

When Stephen Stoll booted his second field goal with 3:35 left in the third quarter, Charleston seemingly had a commanding 33-12 lead.

But the last 15 minutes saw Barton attempt a furious comeback that eventually fell short.

OSCEOLA 41, PRESCOTT 20

OSCEOLA — Strong second and third quarters made the difference for Osceola (10-2) against Prescott (11-2).

Ahead by six with five minutes left in the first half, Osceola junior Marlon Vance returned a Prescott fumble 25 yards for a touchdown. Four minutes later, senior D.J. Flie threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior Robert White to put the Seminoles up 20-0.

Prescott scored a touchdown in the final minute of half to make it 20-7.

In the third quarter, Osceola went up 27-7 on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Flie to senior Dante Adams.

After surrendering a touchdown to Prescott, the Seminoles took a 34-14 lead on a 40-yard run by senior Derrell Brown Jr.

In the final quarter, the teams traded touchdowns with Osceola scoring on a 2-yard run by Flie.

RIVERCREST 37, MELBOURNE 8

WILSON — Rivercrest (11-2) held Melbourne (9-3) scoreless until the fourth quarter in their lopsided victory.

Senior Jamyka Franks ran 4 yards for a first-quarter touchdown, then caught the two-point conversion pass from sophomore Easton Elder.

Junior Demilon Brown ran 1 yard for a touchdown in the second quarter before running in the two-point conversion.

Rivercrest scored touchdowns in the third quarter on a 77-yard run by sophomore JD Winda, a 36-yard run by Brown and a 17-yard run by Franks.

Melbourne scored in the fourth quarter on a pass from sophomore Gabe Lawrence to sophomore Alex Bray. The pair connected again for the two-point conversion.

MCGEHEE 20, NEWPORT 6

McGEHEE — McGehee (10-2) trailed 6-0 in the third quarter but picked up an 85-yard touchdown from Dewayne Railey on a fake punt, turning the tide in a victory over Newport (8-4).

In the fourth quarter, Deonta Haynes gave the Owls the lead for good with a 35-yard touchdown off a pass from quarterback Coryontae Smart. Haynes sealed the victory with a late interception that he returned 70 yards for a touchdown.

ATKINS 48, ELKINS 38

ELKINS — Atkins (10-2) saw an early 14-0 lead evaporate, but a strong performance by junior Gage Rehm was the difference in the Red Devils’ victory over Elkins (9-3).

At running back, Rehm scored on a 42-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Later in the same quarter, Rehm was moved to slot receiver where he caught a Zack Harris and turned it into a 50-yard touchdown reception to put the Red Devils up 21-6. The two connected again in the third quarter when Harris found the junior with a 29-yard score.

Rehm finished the game with 12 carries for 134 yards and a score. He had 4 receptions for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns.