Colts bottle up Eagles

RIVERCREST 41, MAYFLOWER 14

MAYFLOWER — Rivercrest had too many horses for Mayflower to corral Friday night.

Jamyka Franks and Demilon Brown combined for five touchdowns and 308 rushing yards as the Colts rolled to a 41-14 victory in the Class 3A quarterfinals over the Eagles at Patrick Stadium.

Franks, a 5-9 senior fullback, scored on runs of 1, 1, 2 and 90 yards, finishing the night with 17 carries and 142 yards. Brown, the Colts’ 6-2 junior quarterback, scored on a 53-yard run and collected 166 yards on 14 carries. All totaled, Rivercrest (11-2) racked up 475 yards, 396 of which came on the ground.

“We pride ourselves with the strength of our offensive line,” Rivercrest Coach Kelly Chandler said. “We tell them every week they’re the best guys in Arkansas.”

Rivercrest will host McGehee in next week’s semifinals.

Deon Simmons, who led Mayflower (11-1) with 225 yards on 38 carries, scored on a 4-yard run and on a twopoint conversion run with 1:57 left in the opening quarter to give the Eagles an 8-7 lead.

The Eagles’ lead vanished on the Colts’ ensuing drive. Rivercrest responded by marching 60 yards on 11 plays, taking the lead for good at 14-8 on the second 1-yard run by Franks with 8:37 left in the half.

The game’s telling blow came eight minutes later. Facing a third and 14 at the Mayflower 27, Rivercrest freshman quarterback Kamron Turner hit junior Kaleb Long in the right corner of the end zone to increase the Colts’ lead to 21-8 with 26 seconds remaining.

“Our [defender] was there but we couldn’t make the play,” Mayflower Coach Todd Langrell said.

Turner and Long also had connected for a 39-yard pass on the Colts’ first drive to set up Rivercrest’s first touchdown three minutes into the game.

Rivercrest never attempted a pass in the second half, rolling up all of its 298 yards on the ground in the final two quarters.

Brown compiled 148 rushing yards in the second half, scoring his lone touchdown with 4:59 left in the third quarter to increase Rivercrest’s lead to 28-8. He also had a 50yard run midway through the fourth quarter to set up the third touchdown for Franks.

Mayflower capped the scoring with 15 seconds left on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Sean Harris to Houston Cochran.

Simmons entered the game leading the state in touchdowns.

JUNCTION CITY 50, CLINTON 43

JUNCTION CITY — Shuvasceiaye Frazier scored on a 1-yard run with nine seconds left as Junction City outlasted Clinton.

The Dragons improved to 12-0 and advanced to the semifinals of the Class 3A playoffs. The Yellow Jackets ended their season with a 12-1 record.

Clinton trailed 36-13 midway in the third but mounted a comeback. Ethan Drake scored on a 20-yard run with 2:17 left in the fourth quarter. Caleb Bowman ran for the two-point conversion, which gave the Yellow Jackets a 43-42 lead.

After the kickoff, the Dragons took over at their own 35 with 2:10 left.

Frazier’s biggest run of the night of 33 yards put the Dragons at the 11. Jalen Davis ran for 8 yards to the 3, Frazier carried for 1, then fought his way into the end zone on the next play.

OSCEOLA 37, CHARLESTON 14

CHARLESTON – Osceola’s defense allowed one touchdown and 170 total yards in pulling away to a victory in the Class 3A quarterfinals Friday night at Alumni Field.

Osceola (11-2) will travel to Junction City next week for a semifinal match-up. The Dragons rallied past Clinton, 50-43, on Friday night.

The loss ended a 12-game home playoff winning streak for the Tigers (12-1).

The Seminoles led 17-14 at the half, but dominated the second half, outscoring the Tigers 20-0 and limiting Charleston to just 39 yards of offense in the final two quarters.

MCGEHEE 52, ATKINS 13

McGEHEE — McGehee (11-2) raced out to a two-touchdown lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back in ending Atkins’ (10-3) season.

Corey Smart’s 45-yard touchdown pass to Deonta Haynes gave the Owls a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

They upped the advantage to 26-6 in the second quarter on a 6-yard run by Kaylon Handley, his first of three scores in the game.

Handley scored on a 35-yard run in the third quarter to give the Owls a 32-6 lead before Atkins trimmed the deficit to 32-13 on a 25-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter.