Wise leads Fort Smith Northside past Van Buren

VAN BUREN — Van Buren hung tough with Fort Smith Northside early, but senior quarterback Derrick Wise proved to be too much for the Pointers defense to handle on Friday night at Blakemore Field.

Wise accounted for 337 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to help the Grizzlies pull away for a 46-21 win.

The 5-foot-8, 170-pounder threw for two touchdowns, ran for one and also caught a touchdown pass from receiver J.T. Thorne as the Grizzlies (3-0) led 32-14 at halftime.

Northside coach Mike Falleur was pleased with his team’s response after Van Buren played strong early. But Wise also played big. He rushed for 139 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown and completed 14 of 16 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.

“(Wise) is a good football player. He’s a great young man and I’m glad he’s on our team,” Falleur said. “He’s a running back playing quarterback and he’s worked hard to get better and he’s done a great job. He’s worked all winter on throwing the football. He’s just really worked hard and you can tell. He feels more comfortable doing what he’s doing.

“I was a little worried about our kids maybe not being whatever you want to call it, a little flat. But they responded, especially offensively. The defense settled down and started playing. Sloppy win for us. A lot of penalties. We’ve gotta clean that up.

The Grizzlies defense also limited Van Buren to just 15 yards rushing. The lone blemish was penalties as Northside was flagged 12 times for 123 yards.

Northside finished the first half strong with a pair of touchdowns, after the Pointers scored to pull within 17-14 with 8:16 left in the second quarter.

Wise found Jackson King open in the middle of the field for a 33-yard gain on third-and-19 from the Northside 19. Demarion Shepard finished off the 10-play drive with a 1-yard run. Following a threeand-out by Van Buren, the Grizzlies took advantage of a short field and Wise did the damage again.

He got loose for a 22-yard run and then found King again for a 23-yard touchdown pass to give Northside a 32-14 lead with 40 seconds left before halftime.

Northside also took advantage of a bad snap on a punt by Van Buren, which set the Grizzlies up at the Pointers 7. Van Buren defense stiffened though as Northside faced a third-and-goal from the 8, but Falluer dipped into his bag of tricks.

Thorne took a handoff on a reverse and threw to Wise for the 8-yard touchdown for a 17-7 lead with 9:21 left in the first half.

Senior quarterback Christian Morrow accounted for

most of the Pointers’ offense, completing 18 of 26 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score.