Badgers pick up victory in return

BEEBE 20, JACKSONVILLE 14

BEEBE — The Beebe Badgers outlasted the Jacksonville Titans 20-14 on Friday night.

Beebe Coach Chris Gunter was proud of his guys for how they competed after a twoweek hiatus due to coronavirus complications.

“I loved our effort,” Gunter said. “We looked like a team that hadn’t played in two weeks, but I loved the effort. That was never an issue.”

The Badgers (2-3, 2-0 5A-Central), led by junior quarterback Gannon Roberts, got on the board on their opening drive. The drive took 2:47 off the clock, and Roberts used his legs to record a 11yard touchdown run, but the extra point was no good.

Beebe got the ball back a few plays later as a Jacksonville fumble was recovered by a Badger.

Roberts then displayed his passing ability by hitting junior wide receiver Jayden Smith over the top of a Titans’ defensive back for a 31-yard touchdown catch to put Beebe up 13-0 with 5:37 to play in the first quarter.

Jacksonville’s offense responded as junior quarterback Deorious Cobbs led them on a seven-play scoring drive. The drive featured a heavy rushing attack, and it was capped off with 16-yard touchdown run by Cobbs. The Titans elected to go for two, and it paid off as senior Amiri Bolden ran into the end zone to close the deficit to 13-8.

Both defenses stiffened in the second quarter as neither team produced points.

Beebe opened the second half by recovering an onside kick on the Jacksonville 30yard line. The Badgers capitalized as sophomore running back Zach Grant found a seam in the defense and rushed for a 15-yard touchdown to put the Badgers up 20-8.

With a little over nine minutes remaining, the Titans (2-5, 0-3) began to string together a drive after a couple of big gains through the air. On fourth and long, Cobbs scrambled for a 24-yard touchdown to pull the Titans within 20-13.

Although the Titans fell short, Jacksonville Coach Maurice Moody liked how his guys competed.

“I was proud of the guys,” Moody said. “We played hard, but we just had a couple adverse situations that we didn’t handle well. We gave it everything we had. We’re not at a place where we can fight through turnovers and drive killers.”

With 2:33 to play, Beebe converted on a fourth and short at midfield to seal the game.