Lair’s TDs, interception make McClellan’s night
ALMA — Little Rock McClellan’s Tyrse Lair finished with four touchdowns, including a 75-yard kick return, but what he did on defense was the difference-maker Friday night.
Lair intercepted Alma quarterback Garrison Jensen’s pass at the McClellan 1 to secure the 60-52 victory over the Airedales in a game that came down to the final minutes.
“He basically won this game for us almost single-handedly,” McClellan Coach Maurice Moody said. “It was a team effort, of course, but he did a fantastic job tonight. He was the man out there.”
McClellan jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, rattling off 28 points and holding Alma to only seven. Two of those touchdowns were part of a stretch for the Crimson Lions that saw them score on three consecutive plays.
Two came from Lair, who had a 78-yard touchdown run and followed it up with his kick return for a score.
“He was phenomenal tonight,” Moody said. “We asked a lot out of him, and he didn’t shy away from it. He played extremely hard and gave everything he had out on the field. He came up with some huge plays for us tonight.”
Alma battled back for the rest of the game and would go on to score 6 touchdowns to the Crimson Lions 3 to even the score at 52-52 with just under 6 minutes to go in the game.
“They caught us sleeping on a few plays and scored some big-time touchdowns on us,” Moody said.
With the game tied, Moody stuck to what had been working for his team the whole night — running the ball. Little Rock McClellan rushed for 468 yards as the Alma defense struggled to contain the speed of the Crimson Lions’ playmakers.
“That’s our identity,” Moody said. “Everybody knows me. We’re going to ground-and-pound and run the football. … That’s who we are as a football team.”
That philosophy paved the way for quarterback Bennie Kemp III to bulldoze his way in from six yards out to take the lead with just over a minute left in the game.
“We played well. We fought hard. We never gave up, and we never quit,” Moody said. “I’m proud of my boys and how we played tonight.”
Jensen paced the offense for Alma rolling up 335 yards of total offense and scoring five touchdowns, recording a passing, rushing and receiving score.