Parkers Chapel, Smackover open season at SAU.
Turner’s five touchdowns lift Bucks
MAGNOLIA Smackover rushed for more than 300 yards and forced five turnovers on defense Monday in an emphatic 45-24 victory over defending 2A state champion Foreman at the Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield Kickoff Classic at SAU.
Greg Turner, a senior transfer from Texas, rushed for 201 yards and five touchdowns in his Buckaroo debut.
“He played well. He’s dynamic. We knew he had that kind of ability,” said Smackover coach Brian Brown.
“He’s still got some things he needs to work on. But, he’s been good and working toward getting better. I thought he ran the ball well last night.”
He wasn’t the lone Buckaroo, either.
Dexter Crockett picked up 103 yards on nine carries, including a 45-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter. Offensively, Smackover piled up 394 yards total offense, including 301 on the ground.
“We pride ourselves on doing that,” Brown said of the running game. “I thought our guys blocked well. Foreman has got a great defense.”
The coach singled out the play of left guard Alex Savage and left tackle Max Gathright.
“I’ve got two guys that are complete bulldogs and play the whole game and never come out,” Brown said. “They’re just great players and that’s my left guard and my left tackle. They both swung to the other side and played all night. Both guys really play the game the right way.”
Defensively, Smackover surrendered 275 yards on the ground to the Gators. Hard-running quarterback Kyren Batey finished with 129 yards rushing on 20 attempts. But, 63 of those yards came on his first carry, which went for a touchdown.
“We knew going into the game, if you don’t stop him, you’re not going to win,” said Brown.
“I’ve seen some people stop him for most of the game and then in four plays he gets loose and he scores four touchdowns. Well, that’s 28 points. We knew we were going to have a challenge stopping him.
“He got loose from us there one time and broke off a big run. He had another 30-yard run and after that, he had 18 carries for 30-something yards. We talked about that going in and I thought our kids made plays. We had a lot of guys who played good defense.”
Jaheem Sims had two fumble recoveries with Preston Davis and Hadden Jonio also picking up fumbles. Jaqueze Modica picked off a pass as the Bucks held Foreman to 50 yards through the air on 2-of-6 attempts.
Smackover’s defense made the game’s first impression, forcing a 10-yard punt to give the Bucks’ possession at the 26. Turner took the ensuing handoff and ran 26 yards around left end to pay dirt.
The kick failed with 9:26 left in the first.
On the ensuing kickoff, Sims recovered a fumble at the 31.
This time, it took six plays before Turner scored on an 8-yard run. The two-point try failed and Smackover led 12-0 with 6:06 left in the first.
Foreman responded when, on third-and-11, Batey got loose for a spectacular 63-yard touchdown gallop with 6:03 left in the first.
The Gators threatened to tie the game when Issac Carver intercepted a pass at the Smackover 30.
Foreman had a first down at the 6 before Davis recovered a fumble to end the drive.
But, the Gators did eventually knot the game at 12-12 after an 11-play drive culminated in Batey’s 1-yard TD run with 3:12 left in the second.
That’s how the half ended. The Bucks opened the second half with Turner’s 75-yard touchdown run on the opening play. Harley Williams kicked the PAT for a 19-12 lead with 11:40 left in the third.
Foreman answered with a 12-play drive, capped by Batey’s 1-yard run with 5:11 left in the third. The Gators missed the PAT and trailed 19-18.
After Turner returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the 43, Smackover used seven plays to find the end zone. Crockett had runs of 12 and 10 before, on fourthand-3, Turner scored on a 13-yard run, spinning out a tackle and into the end zone. Williams added the PAT for a 26-18 advantage with 1:49 left in the third.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Jonio recovered a fumble to put the Bucks back in business at the 44. Roshard Boone would connect with Modica on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds left in the third. Williams added the PAT for a 33-18 advantage.
The Gators kept fighting with Batey leading another 9-play drive, capped by the quarterback’s 1-yard plunge with 9:14 left in the game.
Foreman made a defensive stop and was driving into Smackover territory before Modica intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards to the 26.
Turner scored on the next play to put the game away, 39-24 with 4:15 remaining. Crockett added the final nail with his 45-yard touchdown run with 1:43 left to play.
“We’re excited,” said Brown. “We knew it was going to be a tough week with Junction City coming in on Saturday. I thought the kids bought in to what our coaches were coaching.
“We preached about it all week. I thought the adversity in the second quarter, we didn’t play very well and they were playing pretty good.
“I thought at halftime, we settled down and talked about what we were doing. They came back out and did it and did a great job.
“We want to try to keep it going. It’s a tough week but we’re going to try to keep moving in one direction.”