El Dorado defeats Magnolia 5128.
El Dorado's final game statistics weren't eye-popping. But, the Wildcats' first-half performance did more than just raise eyebrows. It was almost breath taking.
El Dorado scored on all six of its first-half possessions against Magnolia before slowing it down in the second half and settling for a 51-28 victory at Memorial Stadium. The Wildcats improved to 3-0 while the Panthers slumped to 1-2.
El Dorado built a 37-7 halftime lead before giving playing time to almost its entire 90-man roster. The Wildcats used four quarterbacks, seven running backs and got scoring drives out of its first, second and third-team offensive units.
"Good game all the way around, I was really proud of all of our kids," said El Dorado coach Scott
Reed. "Even the young ones, we had a couple of mistakes but they played hard. I was proud of the older ones because they kept pulling for 'em and were helping to teach them. We had a good sideline and I was pleased with the effort."
Senior quarterback Darius Holly completed 6-of-6 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a score before sitting out the entire second half. He was on the field for just three possessions in the game.
"I thought Darius was calm and very good, very accurate. I didn't play him in the second half because I didn't think there was any need to," said Reed. "I thought Alex (Hicks) did some good things. The other thing is they're unselfish. They don't question it at all. We got to play a lot of young guys in the second half and they competed hard. I really like my group."
Defensively, the Wildcats held Magnolia's flexbone offense to just 24 rushing yards on 17 attempts in the first half. The Panthers, who totaled 68 yards in the first half, hit a couple big pass plays in the second half as the Wildcats subbed freely.
El Dorado opened the game with a 74-yard drive in five plays. Holly was sacked for an 11-yard loss to bring up third-and-21 from the 15. He dropped back and found Keshun Greene for a 30-yard hookup. After hitting Taliq Ellis for nine, Holly found Shun Levingston all alone for a 46-yard touchdown pass. The kick failed, leaving the lead at 6-0 with 9:57 left in the first.
The Wildcats forced a threeand-punt and then marched 71 yards in three plays. Holly hit Evan Chandler for 15 and Levingston for 40 before Richard Kesee sprinted into the end zone on a 17-yard touchdown run. Greysen Hubbard added the PAT for a 13-0 advantage with 7:04 left in the first.
The Panthers, who were a 28-27 loss to Monticello away from a 2-0 start, mounted a drive of their own. On thirdand-13, Payton Campbell hit Tayvon Patterson on a wheel route for 44 yards. On thirdand-goal, Patterson scored on a 5-yard run. Morgan Rogers hit the PAT, cutting the lead to 13-7 with 3:24 left in the first.
Hicks came in to lead El Dorado's next offensive series. The Wildcats went to the ground as Jarius Curry ran for three, Hicks for four, Curry for seven, Hicks for 13 and Kesee for 16. Hicks hit Ellis for 11 before Kesee bulled into the end zone from three yards out. Hubbard's kick extended the lead to 20-7 with 34 seconds left in the first.
The Wildcats forced a three-and-out as Calab Scott dropped Patterson for a 3-yard loss on third down. El Dorado took the ball at the 45 and Holly went back to work. Kesee rushed for 21 yards before Holly connected with Chandler for 22 to the 12. Holly would fake the jet sweep and keep the ball himself on a 12-yard touchdown on the next play. Hubbard's kick pushed the lead to 27-7 with 10:14 left in the second.
After another three-and-out by the El Dorado defense, the Wildcats took over at the 30 and drove 70 yards in six plays. Keontae Larry ripped off a 34-yard run. Hicks was sacked for an 11-yard loss, bringing up third-and-19. The sophomore took the shotgun snap and raced around left end for 35 yards on the next play. Curry would score on a 10-yard run. Hubbard's kick increased the margin to 34-7 with 5:37 left in the half.
El Dorado stopped Magnolia on fourth down to take the ball at the 44. Larry cut loose for another 35-yard rumble to the 19. With the clock dwindling, the Wildcats took a knee on third down but the Panthers were called for a personal foul. El Dorado ran its kicking team onto the field and Hubbard drilled a 33-yard field goal as the half expired for a 37-7 cushion.
The Panthers took the second half kickoff and marched to paydirt with Michael Wyrick scoring on a 7-yard run. Rogers' kick cut the deficit to 37-14 with eight minutes left in the third. Kesee returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the 33. Two plays later, Hicks sprinted into the end zone on a 29-yard touchdown scamper. Hubbard's kick upped the lead to 44-14 with 6:27 left in the third.
With reserves on the field for the Wildcats, the teams exchanged turnovers. Jacoby Hankton forced and recovered a fumble for El Dorado. Magnolia's Cade Lindsey recovered a fumbled shotgun snap for the Panthers. Two plays later, El Dorado's Martavious Green recovered a fumble for the Wildcats.
Magnolia would find the end zone with 8:32 left in the fourth on Campbell's 32-yard pass to Braelyn Beasley. With Clayton Helm at quarterback, the Wildcats answered with Devonte Yarbrough's 18-yard touchdown run with 2:50 left in the game. Emon Ingram kicked the extra point for a 51-21 lead. The Panthers cut the final margin to 51-28 when Campbell and Beasley hooked up again in the final seconds.
Larry led El Dorado's rushing with 79 yards on four attempts. Hicks added 73 yards on six carries. Kesee rushed for 57 on five attempts, all in the first half. Levingston had two receptions for 86 yards.
"We cleaned it up. Last week, we had a lot of penalties. Tonight, it looked pretty clean," said Reed. "The first two plays I was like, 'Where are we?' All of a sudden, Darius made a great read and threw a strikeout to Keshun. From then on, it was boom, boom, boom. It looked good."