Missed kick decides Pine Bluff’s victory
PINE BLUFF 49, SHERIDAN 48, 4OT
SHERIDAN — Senior utility back Elisha Taylor ran 9 yards for the tying touchdown in the fourth overtime, and senior kicker Ethan White followed with the game-winning extra point as Pine Bluff outlasted Sheridan 49-48 in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs Friday night at Yellowjacket Stadium.
Pine Bluff (4-7), the No. 5 seed from the 6A-East, is at Searcy in a quarterfinal game next week. Searcy beat Pine Bluff 42-6 on Oct. 18 en route to the 6A-East championship and a No. 1 playoff seed. Sheridan (5-6) was the No. 4 seed from the 6A-West.
After regulation ended 2121, the teams matched touchdowns in overtime. The difference was Sheridan senior kicker Javier Gonzalez missed the extra-point attempt in the fourth overtime, while White — a soccer player playing football for the first time this fall — made his try.
Sheridan had taken a 4842 lead when junior utility back Peyton Edwards ran 6 yards for a touchdown on second down (each team had four downs to score from the opponent’s 10). On its fourth overtime possession, Pine Bluff had third down from the 9 when Taylor took a Shotgun snap, faked a handoff on a speed sweep and ran up the middle. He was hit near the 5 but powered the final few yards into the end zone. White added his seventh, and most important, extra point of the game.
“That’s something that’s hard to prepare for, overtime, being able to draw up plays down inside of the 10,” Zebras Coach Rod Stinson said. “But we felt like with the offense that we had in, being able to put in two tight ends and two fullbacks, it gave us a chance down there.”
Taylor, used at wingback and Wildcat quarterback, ran for six touchdowns, including four in overtime (5, 4, 6 and 9 yards). His 4-yard touchdown run in the second overtime came on fourth down with Sheridan leading 35-28.
Edwards, also used as a Wildcat quarterback by Sheridan, ran for five touchdowns, including three in overtime (1, 4 and 6 yards). The 1-yard touchdown run in the first overtime came on fourth down with Pine Bluff leading 28-21.
“Man, we responded so many times,” Yellowjackets Coach Lance Parker said. “Momentum swings were wild, but I was just proud of our kids. I hate that it came down to a special-teams miscue, but, man, I thought they did a great job responding. We had our opportunities to put it away, but we didn’t. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Edwards gave Sheridan a 14-7 halftime lead on a 17-yard touchdown run with 10:47 remaining in the second quarter. The Zebras scored on their first two possessions of the second half, taking their first lead, 21-14, on Taylor’s 10-yard touchdown run with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter.
Edwards made it 21-21 on a 7-yard touchdown run with 11:55 remaining in regulation.
Taylor ran 11 yards for Pine Bluff’s first touchdown with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter.