Skid Snapper
Bauxite triumphant, wins 3rd straight Showdown BAUXITE 39, HARMONY GROVE 26
HASKELL — In a battle for a trophy Friday, the Harmony Grove Cardinals ( 0- 6, 0- 3) played host to cross- county rival Bauxite ( 2- 4, 1- 2) in the fifth annual Saline River Showdown at Sykes Stadium.
With both teams owning two wins each in the series — including back- to- back for the Miners — Bauxite would break the tie over Harmony Grove, capturing the title once more with a 39- 26 win and first under the direction of first- year Head Coach Caleb Perry.
“Hats off to Harmony Grove,”
Perry said. “They are not an easy team to play against. You can’t replicate what they do in practice. You are just hoping your kids have it figured out come game time. Fortunately, we were able to move the ball on offense and we came out with the win in the end.”
For Harmony Grove Head Coach Mike Guthrie, he said his kids “Played their hearts out.”
“It just wasn’t in the cards for us,” he added.
Harmony Grove would begin the game with the ball at the Bauxite 43 after a 56- yard kickoff return from Troy Potter before going the rest of the way on six plays for the lead.
Hunter Williams would find a wide open Canyon Clifton for the rare 16-yard touchdown passing strike as the Cardinals led 7- 0 with
7: 30 left in the opening quarter.
Bauxite, however, would respond quickly with a four- play, 86- yard drive as Hunter Ferrell played the wide-open game, finding receiver Braden Arnold for the 52-yard TD strike. A stuffed 2- point try would leave the Cardinals in front 7- 6 with 6: 16 still to roll in the first.
With the ball a second time, the Cardinals would cough up the rock for the first time on a fumble by Williams, but their defense would hold Bauxite to a punt, setting up a second TD drive.
Beginning at the Bauxite 11, Harmony Grove needed only three plays to get back into the end zone, capped by a 7-yard scamper from Clifton. A blocked PAT attempt would stall the score at 13- 6 with 54.7 second left in the quarter.
Both teams continued the back- and- forth play for the rest of the half as the Miners made it 13-13 on its third drive with Conner Stacy sprinting 47 yards for the score with
10: 05 left in the half.
The Cardinals, though, would quickly make it a 20-13 game as Williams powered in from 3 yards deep with 7: 41 to go.
Needing to weaken the Cardinals defense, Bauxite would follow with a 15- play drive that began at its own 21.
With a little more than three minutes to go in the
half, Ferrell would keep the ball for the score, running in from 2 yards to make it 20- 20.
Harmony Grove would turn the ball over on downs after being stuffed at the 1- yard line as seconds remained in the half.
“Honestly, that goalline stand was probably the play of the game,”
Perry said. “If you can stop them several plays in a row, in that scenario, you are doing something special. That’s their ( HG) world. We feel like we needed it. At the end of the day, somebody has to make a play. That is how games are decided. When you understand the game and what’s going on ... we knew that was a big deal for us.
“Our defense had struggled in the first half. We did a lot better in the second half.”
With the momentum in their favor and receiving the ball to start the second half, the Miners continued their roll, scoring in only a minute into the third on a 43- yard TD strike from Ferrell to Arnold once again.
Bauxite would lead
26- 20 after the missed PAT.
After being forced to punt, Harmony Grove would gain a bit of momentum on defense, intercepting Ferrell on the Miners first play of the ensuing drive before ultimately turning the ball over on downs.
The Miners would make it a two-score contest a drive later as guard Reed Gautreaux took a snap at quarterback, keeping it for the 1- yard score with 8: 30 left in the game. A botched 2-point try would leave things at 32- 20 Bauxite.
Harmony Grove would cut the lead to 32- 26 with a 72- yard, two- play series that ended with a bit of an okie doke as Clifton took the handoff before launching a 71-yard TD pass to Potter with 7: 34 left. The 2- point try would be stuffed.
Bauxite, though, was too much to handle late as the Miners scored one last time on a 7- yard pass from Stacey to Logan Debord with 2: 22 left to play.
“When you are having to play nine or 10 kids both ways and it comes the fourth quarter, they can hardly stand up,” Guthrie said. “We play strong maybe into the fourth quarter, but then we just give out. We don’t have enough depth.”
Harmony Grove would end its night on an Williams interception.
Williams finished 3 for 5 for 53 yards and a TD. He also rushed for 44 yards and a score in the loss.
“Hunter did a wonderful job passing and our linemen did a good job of pass blocking,” Guthrie said. “Our kids ran good routs for him to throw to them.”
Clifton had a big night running the ball, totaling 123 yards and a score on 14 carries. He would also pass for a TD, leading the Cardinals with 71 yards through the air.
Potter led Harmony Grove receivers with two catches for 96 yards and a score.
For Bauxite, Ferrell would complete 9 of 17 attempts for 145 yards and a score. He also would gain 8 yards on the ground with a TD. Stacey followed with a 7 for 8 night and 51 yards, along with a TD.
On the ground, Stacey led the Miners with eight touches for 86 yards and a TD.
He would be followed by Devin Jones, who ran 14 times for 62 yards.
With four catches, 73 yards and a score, Arnold would lead Bauxite’s receiving corps on the night.
Seven Miners would contribute catching the ball in the win.
For Bauxite, the schedule sends the Miners back to The Pit in Week 7 as Fountain Lake comes to town.
Friday’s win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Miners, having not won since Zero Week.
“This year has been a test for Bauxite with me coming in with a new offensive system,” Perry said. “We have been moving kids around. Bauxite really didn’t run the spread last year so there has been a lot of learning going on. We are really hoping this win can spark a little bit of a roll for us to get some confidence back. We feel like we have the team that if we can get in the playoffs we might could make a little run.”
Harmony Grove will be at Arkadelphia next Friday, assuming the Badgers are able to play due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These kids come to work every day and that’s what we teach and what we believe,” Guthrie said. “We aren’t going to give up or lay down, we are going to come back and give it all we’ve got through the end of the season.”
Both games are set to kick off at 7 p. m.