Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Zebras zip to Class 6A title
Pine Bluff tops Greenwood 28-21 to cap 13-0 season.
Moments after claiming a second consecutive Class 6A state championship, a throng of boisterous Pine Bluff players hoisted their newly earned championship trophy skyward Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Defensive end John Tate was right in the middle of the action, just like he had been for the entire game.
Tate earned his place near the center of the celebratory scrum. While Pine Bluff’s talented offensive triumvirate of Ladarius Skelton, David Beasley and Romar Reades did their part in Saturday’s 28-21 victory over Greenwood, it was Tate and his defensive counterparts who protected a seven-point lead for more than two quarters.
Pine Bluff led 28-21 at halftime, but its offense never scored again. It didn’t have to. The defense brought home Pine Bluff’s seventh state title of the modern era and its 23rd title overall.
“It means a lot,” Tate said. “We worked hard. We were doubted. Everybody was saying we were going to lose. … We came out here not to prove a point but to try to let them know we’re the best team in the state, and I think we showed that tonight.”
Greenwood (12-1), which hadn’t been held to fewer than 34 points in any game this season, could do nothing in the second half against the Zebras. After Skelton found Casey Higgins for a 25-yard touchdown with 2: 38 left in the first half to set the final score, Greenwood had six more possessions with a chance to tie the game. Six times it failed. “Lights out defensively in the second half,” Pine Bluff Coach Bobby Bolding said. “Coaches made a couple of adjustments. … We got it fixed with the kids and then we played hard.”
After racking up 257 yards of offense in the first half, Greenwood managed just 125 on four second-half drives. As the clock dwindled and Greenwood became increasingly desperate, the Zebras continued to hold strong. Greenwood’s final drive stalled at the Pine Bluff 37 following two incompletions and a holding call. The Bulldogs elected to punt on fourth and 15 with 2:12 left and a full complement of timeouts, but Skelton and the offense picked up two first downs to run out the clock.
Pine Bluff (13-0) forced two turnovers, including an interception by Keshawn Whaley late in the first half. It also recorded a sack among its nine tackles for loss. Whaley and Malik Isaiah finished with eight tackles each to lead the team, and Tate added five.
The Zebras held Greenwood quarterback Luke Hales to 16- of-29 passing for 166 yards and 1 touchdown. Leading receiver Ryan Padilla, who had 1,222 yards entering the game, was held to four receptions for 42 yards.
Despite having no room for error, the defense kept delivering stops much to the delight of the thousands who travelled from Pine Bluff.
“We did it by hard work, focusing and having the heart and drive to keep doing it,” Isaiah said. “It means the world to me. For me, I’ve done something not just for myself but for the whole [of] Pine Bluff, Arkansas.”