El Dorado, Benton compete in 6A West showdown.
Defense holds strong as El Dorado overcomes four turnovers in victory
Friday the 13th proved to be the night El Dorado broke the hex. The Wildcats snapped a five-game losing streak against Benton with a hard-fought 27-20 win at Memorial Stadium.
El Dorado improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in 6A-West action. The Panthers slipped to 5-2, 3-1.
If this game were a movie, it might've been listed in the horror category. The Wildcats had four turnovers and, if anyone wore the Jason mask it was an official, whose inadvertant whistle led to a Benton touchdown in the second quarter.
"It wasn't pretty. There were turnovers and mistakes but our kids played really hard," said El Dorado coach Scott Reed. "They played like they cared every play and our defense was really good tonight. We put them in some bad spots offensively and they physically took over, I thought, in the second half. Our defense did. We did not let them run the ball."
Unofficially, the Wildcats held Benton to just 91 yards on the ground. Peyton Hudgins completed 14-of-25 passes for 183 yards.
For El Dorado, sophomore Alex Hicks rushed for 124 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown. Darius Holly completed 12-of-21 passes for 237 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown. Shun Levingston had four receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 23 yards and another score.
"Our offensive line was good. They handled the pressure better than we have in the past. They bring it from different angles. I thought we were calm and we handled that and we were much more consistent. We didn't have the lost-yardage plays," said Reed.
Hicks rebounded from a first-half fumble but finished the game strong. His 8-yard run on thirdand-4 sealed the game in the final minute.
"I'm not going to fault Alex," said Reed. "He fought hard on every play. You're nuts if you don't play him."
Sophomore Greysen Hubbard kicked a pair of field goals and all three extra points.
"Hubbard was awesome. He hit every kick," said Reed. "His kickoffs were just what we wanted."
The Panthers drew first blood, taking over at the 47 after Blake Smith intercepted a tipped pass. On fourth-and-17, Benton ran a trick play with Hudgins throwing to the flanker, who found Gavin Wells wide open for a 25-yard touchdown. Taylor Akdamar kicked the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 8:23 left in the first.
The Wildcats answered with a drive, keyed by Holly's 41-yard pass to a diving Taliq Ellis, which converted a third-and-12. Hicks hit Levingston for 19 on a double-reverse pass before the drive stalled at the 4. Hubbard booted a 21-yard field goal with 3:49 left in the first.
El Dorado took the lead when Holly threw a quick pass to Levingston, who turned it into a 58-yard touchdown. Levingston made two defenders miss, outran two more and then eluded another defender at the 5 before skipping into the end zone. Hubbard's kick made the score 10-7 with 8:29 left in the second.
The Wildcats took advantage of a Benton boo boo when the Panthers muffed a punt and Keonta Barnes recovered at the Panthers' 22. Hicks would score from four yards out. With the kick, the Wildcats led 17-7 with 1:49 left in the second.
The teams exchanged turnovers. Tyrek Rucks intercepted a pass at the 35. Two plays later, Benton's Smith recovered Hicks' fumble at the 24.
On second down, Jason made an appearance as Hudgins dropped back to pass before a referee blew his whistle. Players on both teams stopped and looked around, only to see the officials staring back at them. Alertly, Benton's Michael Allison ran down the field and Hudgins hit him for a 51-yard completion. Two plays later, Beau Brewer scored from a yard out. The PAT cut the lead to 17-14 with nine seconds left in the half.
The second half began with Smith's second interception, which gave the Panthers' possession at the 16. It took 13 plays, including a 37-yard completion on third-and-19, before Brewer scored on a 1-yard run. The PAT failed, leaving Benton's lead at 20-17 with 1:58 left in the third.
The Wildcats answered with a drive, culminating in Hubbard's 27-yard field, which tied the game with 11:17 left in the fourth. The kick was set up by Holly's 61-yard pass to Keshun Greene.
El Dorado's defense forced a punt. But, the Benton punter mishandled the snap and the Wildcats blocked the kick with Donnell Thompson recovering at the 20. Three plays later, Levingston scored on a 10-yard run off a jet sweep. Hubbard's kick pushed the lead to 27-20 with 9:10 left in the game.
A fumble recovery by Kyvin Carroll gave the Panthers their final opportunity with the ball at the 41 and 5:17 on the clock. Benton converted a fourth-and-3 with a 5-yard pass but, on fourth-and-10, Wells' 9-yard reception was a yard short.
Hicks ran for 1, 5 and then 8 yards to help the Wildcats run out the clock.
"That's a big hurdle for us," said Reed. "I think that puts us back in the top part of our conference which is where we want to be. Our kids have rebounded well. To be 6-1, I'm really pleased."