Springdale pours on offense in 50-28 victory

SPRINGDALE HIGH 50, ROGERS HERITAGE 28

SPRINGDALE — Even with his team down by two touchdowns in the first half Friday night, Springdale High coach Zak Clark’s confidence the Bulldogs would win the game never faltered.

He knew his offense just needed to get on the field, and the scoring barrage would come. The Bulldogs then ran off 36 unanswered points in the first half on their way to a dominant 50-28 win over Rogers Heritage in the 7A-West Conference opener at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.

“We had to secure the ball on kickoffs and that was it,” Clark said. “We hadn’t had the ball yet on offense.

“It was a weird game. I mean, we were down 14 to nothing before we even got the ball, and after that, it was a lot better. We had it rolling, especially in the first half on offense. Defensively, we’re just hit-and-miss right now. We play really well at times, and other times we don’t.”

Heritage (0-4, 0-1 7A-West) notched a touchdown on its first possession after Brett

Lemmond scored on a 42-yard run. The War Eagles quickly extended their lead to two scores after Springdale (4-0, 1-0) fumbled on the ensuing kickoff. Quarterback Zach Brown scored on a 1-yard keeper, but that would be the last time Heritage would score before Lemmond found the end zone again right before the half ended.

Enter Springdale quarterback Grant Allen.

The senior went 12-of14 for 194 yards with three touchdowns in the first half to lead the Bulldogs to a 15-point edge over the War Eagles. Allen would go on to finish the game with 344 passing yards and five touchdowns while completing 78 percent of his passes.

“He was about perfect tonight, and we needed him to be,” Clark said. “His anticipation is unbelievable. They dialed up some good blitzes that we haven’t seen, and he had to throw the ball early a few times. He has a knack and he’s extremely accurate to get the ball to where it needs to go.”

His favorite target, Brock Pounders, finished the game with six catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs receiving corps.

Garrett Vaughan paced the Bulldogs’ run game with a 190-yard performance on 21 carries. Brown finished the game with 106 rushing yards to lead the War Eagles.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were able to dominate for most of the second and third quarters. They came away with four turnovers thanks to interceptions from Jajuan Boyd and Gabriel Bucao along with two fumble recoveries. E’Kyious “Chops” Sanders recorded two sacks and was a constant pressure for Brown the whole night.

“He is so fast and athletic,” Clark said. “He’s dominant, and he’s as good a player as there is in this conference.”

The Bulldogs travel to Bentonville West next week, while Heritage travels to Springdale Har-Ber.