Everything goes in favor of Robinson over Gosnell
JOE T. ROBINSON 38, GOSNELL 14
With the game’s biggest stop and biggest play, all the momentum swung in favor of the Joe T. Robinson Senators in their 38-14 quarterfinal victory over the Gosnell Pirates in the Class 4A state playoffs Friday night at Charlie George Stadium in Little Rock.
Robinson (12-0) led 21-14 at halftime, but Gosnell had possession to start the second half with a chance to tie or take a one-point lead. It drove in six plays from its 33 to Robinson’s 40, where it faced 4thand-1. Gosnell had converted all of its fourth-down opportunities in the first half, so when senior linebacker Lekamerin Tolbert stopped junior running back Devin Burks for a 1-yard loss on Gosnell’s first fourth-down opportunity of the second half, Robinson’s defense turned a corner.
“We needed that,” Robinson Coach Todd Eskola said. “That put us in a position where we could take a twoscore lead, which was important in a game like this.”
“That was a big stop for them,” Gosnell Coach Brandon Barbaree said. “Their defense really picked it up in the second half, but that didn’t surprise us. We knew they were going to be a great challenge.”
Gosnell (9-4) had 154 yards of total offense in the first half. It had 15 in the second.
“That’s about how it felt,” Barbaree said.
Whereas Robinson scored on its first 3 possessions of the first half and Gosnell on its first 2, the teams combined for 4 consecutive scoreless drives to start the second half.
It seemed likely the streak would extend to five when Robinson faced 3rd and 21 from its 29 early in the fourth quarter, but junior quarterback Greyson Tackett’s 71yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Mekel Kentle broke the points drought and gave Robinson a 28-14 lead with 9:50 left in the game.
A holding penalty against Robinson prior to the touchdown would have put it at 2nd and 40 from the 10, but Gosnell declined the penalty to leave Robinson with one play to pick up a first down.
“When we were backed that far up, there really wasn’t a lot we could do,” Eskola said. “But at 3rd and 15, or whatever it was, we could run a play that we practice every day.”
“They got over the top on us on that one, but they’re a great team,” Barbaree said. “We were glad to have a chance.”
Tackett completed 9 of 11 passes for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns. Robinson senior running back Ceasar Warren carried 20 times for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Gosnell senior quarterback Brandon Partee completed 5 of 5 first-half passes for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was 0 for 8 in the second half.
“Obviously Robinson played a great second half on defense,” Barbaree said. “But we felt good about the way we played tonight. I thought we played like a quarterfinal team. We gave ourselves a chance.”
After Tackett’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass, a turnover on downs by Gosnell led to a 20-yard field goal by junior Trent Eskola with 4:52 left. A Gosnell fumble on its next possession set up junior Zaytron Waits’ 1-yard touchdown run that completed the scoring with just under three minutes to play.
WARREN 35, PRAIRIE GROVE 13
WARREN — Warren (12-1) got a well-rounded performance from junior running back Treylon Burks to blow the game open in the second half with a resounding victory over Prairie Grove (11-2) in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
Burks scored all five touchdowns on the night, four on offense and one on defense. He finished the game with 19 carries for 239 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also led the Lumberjacks with 12.5 total tackles.
Burks’ first score came late in the first quarter on an 8-yard touchdown run. He scored for the second time on a 1-yard run at the 9:18 mark of the third quarter.
Three minutes later he used a burst of speed to outrun the Tigers’ secondary for a 65-yard touchdown.
After Prairie Grove got its first touchdown at the 1:03 mark of the third quarter, Burks scored his fourth touchdown on a 31-yard dash to put his team up 28-7 with 11:50 remaining in the game.
The Tigers tried to respond, but a tipped pass was intercepted by Burks and returned 59 yards for his final score.
PEA RIDGE 22, BOONEVILLE 19
BOONEVILLE — Pea Ridge (12-1) running back Drew Winn finished with 34 carries for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns to help lead the way against Booneville (10-2) in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state playoffs.
Pea Ridge bounced back after falling behind 13-7 at halftime while turning the ball over three times in its initial three possessions of the game.
Booneville scored first-half touchdowns starting at the Pea Ridge 10 and 25 with the help of turnovers. Both drives were capped by running back Carson Ray’s touchdowns.
Pea Ridge quarterback Jakota Sainsbury found Hayden Holtgrewe for a 20-yard touchdown to give Booneville a 13-7 lead at halftime.
The Blackhawks needed five plays to end a 72-yard scoring drive that was capped with Winn scoring from 14 yards out to take a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter.
Booneville was able to bounce back taking the lead with a 7-yard touchdown run from Grant Rodatz.
It didn’t take long for Pea Ridge to answer the score, as it used a 56-yard scoring drive on the next possession to pull ahead 22-19 with about 10 minutes in the game.
Booneville was led by Ray, who finished with 12 carries for 59 yards including 2 touchdowns.
Sainsbury completed 10 of 18 passes for 138 yards including a touchdown for the Blackhawks.
ARKADELPHIA 59, ASHDOWN 7
ARKADELPHIA — Connor Turner finished with 154 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 carries to lead Arkadelphia (12-1) over Ashdown (9-4) and into the Class 4A semifinals.
Clinging to a 3-0 lead after Gabe Goodman’s 22-yard field goal in the first quarter, the Badgers stretched the margin with 28 points in the second quarter.
Zion Hatley had a 3-yard touchdown run and also returned a kickoff 93 yards for a score, while Turner had a 35-yard touchdown run and hit Alex Ruble with a 49-yard touchdown pass as Arkadelphia led 31-7 at the half.
Ashdown’s Tre Green also had a 73-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Turner had scoring runs of 46 yards and 1 yard.
Arkadelphia’s Lemarkus Hearn closing out the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 90-yard interception return for a touchdown with 4:59 left.