Rivercrest reigns
Colts force five turnovers to rout No. 1 Dragons.
Rivercrest quarterback Demilon Brown (above, left) tries to pull away from Junction City linebacker Dhante Gibson during the Colts’ victory over the Dragons in the Class 3A state championship game Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Brown was named the game’s MVP. At right, Rivercrest defensive back Zorey Chipman (9) is congratulated by teammates after making an interception in the fourth quarter.
The Rivercrest Colts had no problem taking down the top team in Class 3A on Friday night.
Rivercrest forced five turnovers in a 48-14 victory over the Junction City Dragons in the Class 3A state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
It’s Rivercrest’s first state championship since 2010 and third overall.
The Colts’ defense recovered three fumbles and two interceptions as the Mississippi County school handled the Dragons, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s No. 1 team in Class 3A and 6-3A Conference champions, for the majority of the game.
Rivercrest (13-2), the 3-3A Conference champions, earned playoff victories over Bald Knob, Melbourne, Mayflower and McGehee, but the Colts saved their best performance for their final game of the 2017 season.
“It was great to get this one,” Rivercrest Coach Kelly Chandler said. “The kids played really hard throughout the whole playoffs.”
Junior quarterback Demilon Brown earned MVP honors, completing 4 of 5 passes for 43 yards with 3 touchdowns. He rushed for 62 yards and 1 touchdown on 12 carries.
Kentavious Robinson, a junior running back who returned to the Colts after missing the entire playoffs after suffering a left arm injury in a Week 10 victory over Osceola, had 126 yards and 1 touchdown on 22 carries.
Sophomore running back JD Winda scored two receiving touchdowns, and senior fullback Jamyka Franks finished with 3 touchdowns, including 2 receiving and 1 rushing.
Junction City (13-1), which has won six state championships, trailed 7-6 with 4:59 left in the first quarter but recovered an onside kick at its 39. But senior quarterback Shuvasceiaye Frazier fumbled, and Rivercrest senior cornerback Carl Coleman recovered the ball at the Dragons’ 44.
Four plays later, Brown found Winda for an 8-yard touchdown reception and a 14-6 lead with 2:18 left in the first quarter.
It was part of the Colts’ 20-point run to close the first half for a 27-6 halftime lead.
Frazier’s second interception of the half, this one by senior cornerback Warren Thurman, led to the Colts’ next score. Franks capped an 11-play, 49-yard drive that spanned 5:12 with a 5-yard scoring run to make it 21-6 Rivercrest with 7:32 left in the second quarter.
Winda recovered Frazier’s second fumble of the first half, and the Colts took over at the Dragons’ 49 with 1:53 left. Five plays later, Brown completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Franks with 19 seconds left in the second quarter for the 27-6 lead.
Rivercrest added to its lead in the second half, with Brown’s 5-yard scoring pass to Franks and his 1-yard touchdown run. Robinson also scored on an 11-yard run.
The Colts outgained the Dragons 354-153. They held Junction City senior running back Hishmma Taylor to 66 yards and 1 touchdown on 18 carries. Frazier was 7-of-19 passing for 46 yards with 2 interceptions.
“We didn’t take care of the football tonight,” said Junction City Coach Steven Jones, who was in his first year as the Dragons coach after taking over for David Carpenter, who retired after the 2016 season. “They had a couple of explosive plays early on. They’re a well-coached team. Great season for those guys.
“I’m proud of our team. I feel like we’ll be back.”
Rivercrest lost to Harding Academy in the 2015 Class 3A state championship game, which was a motivating factor for Robinson, who started as a freshman linebacker on that team.
“We should have won in 2015, but it is what it is,” Robinson said. “We got our revenge. We came back and won.”
Friday’s game was one Rivercrest’s greatest player would have been proud of.
Cortez Kennedy, a member of the Colts’ first state championship team in 1985 who went on to a Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks as a defensive lineman, died at 48 in May. He was born in Osceola in 1968 and was raised in Wilson, where Rivercrest is located.
Chandler, who was the Colts’ junior high school coach in the mid-1980s, remembered Kennedy on Friday.
“Cortez is with us,” Chandler said. “He was with us. I guarantee that.”