Ray keeps Booneville humming along
LAMAR — Booneville senior running back Carson Ray has been key in the rushing attack all season long, and things didn’t change Friday night at Warrior Stadium.
Ray rushed 22 times for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 28-7 victory against Lamar to clinch the 1-3A conference championship. He also had an interception on defense.
“I think they were trying to gear up to stop him,” Booneville Coach Scott Hyatt said. “In the first half, they slowed him down a little. But I think he is one of those kids that, as the game goes on, he gets even tougher.”
Ray had eight carries for 72 yards in the first half, then added 98 yards on 14 touches and another touchdown after the break.
Booneville (9-0, 6-0 1-3A Conference) took a 13-0 lead into halftime with some late scoring in the second quarter.
The Bearcats blocked a punt and took over at the Warriors’ 12. Ray capped the scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead with a 15-yard touchdown run with about three minutes left in the second quarter.
Booneville marched 63 yards for a touchdown on its next drive. Junior quarterback Evan Schlinker was able to find senior Ethan Dobbs on a 16-yard touchdown pass on fourth down.
The Bearcats had additional scoring opportunities inside the Lamar 20 twice but failed to convert those drives into points.
Booneville turned the ball over on downs on the first drive of the game. The Bearcats moved the ball again on the second drive before throwing an interception.
“We knew what we were getting into when we came over here,” Hyatt said. “This is a pretty good football team. We knew we had to play well to beat them. Offensively, we shot ourselves in the foot at times. I’m proud of the kids for overcoming that.”
Booneville extended its advantage with a 40-yard touchdown run from Ray with 13 seconds left in the third quarter. Ray converted the two-point play to make it a 21-0 lead.
Lamar (8-1, 5-1) broke through in the fourth quarter when a blocked punt allowed the offense to take over at the Booneville 2. Junior running back Jacob Parmenter, who finished with 11 carries for 36 yards, capped the drive with a 2-yard score.
“If we eliminate some mistakes, I think we are close,” Lamar Coach Josh Jones said. “I think we can play with anybody. There is a lot of season left. Booneville is a good football team. They showed it tonight.”
Booneville’s defense allowed 108 yards of offense on 27 plays in the first half, and just 28 offensive yards on 20 second-half plays.
“Defense wins championships,” Hyatt said. “That’s what we go by here. We knew our defensive line was good. But our linebackers and secondary have played well. I’m proud of them.”
The Bearcats scored again late in the fourth quarter to push the game well out of reach with another fourthdown passing score. Schlinker found senior Michael Hesson on a 20-yard pass to make it 28-7.
“If you can convert on fourth down, that’s big,” Hyatt said. “We had some pass protection issues early. That hurt us. But we bounced back and did a good job when we needed to throw.”
The loss was the first of the season for Lamar, but Jones said he feels great about his team moving forward.
“We made mistakes,” Jones said. “They took advantage of them. They made great plays on fourth down as well. We gave them our best shot. They are a good football team.”