Little Rock Parkview pulls away from Van Buren

VAN BUREN — A minor injury to the hand early in the game to Little Rock Parkview quarterback Landon Rogers shifted the offensive game plan, but it didn’t slow down the scoring much Friday night at Blakemore Field.

Rogers hurt a finger limiting him to just three passing attempts in the game. But he along with his running backs were enough to pull away for a 28-20 road victory against Van Buren in a 6A-West Conference matchup.

James Jointer led the way on the ground for Parkview (41, 1-1). He finished with 28 carries for 174 yards and a touchdown. Rogers finished with 111 yards on the ground on 13 carries with two touchdowns. Willie Eackles chipped in 58 yards on eight carries with a score.

Van Buren was guided by quarterback Gary Phillips. He completed 19 of 38 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. His main targets on the night were Jaiden Henry (six catches for 50 yards and a touchdown) and Chi Henry (two catches for 102 yards and a touchdown).

Van Buren (3-4, 1-3) trailed 14-7 at halftime but quickly was able to tie the game in the second half.

The Pointers took the first possession of the second half for a 10-play, 71-yard drive to tie the game at 14-14. Phillips found Jaiden Henry for a 3-yard touchdown with about eight minutes left in the third quarter.

Rogers ran over a defender then scored on a quarterback rush that went for a 17-yard touchdown. The seven-play drive gave Parkview a 21-14 lead with about two minutes left before the fourth quarter.

Van Buren got the ball at its own 29 with one minute, 28 seconds left in the game. The Pointers needed just one play to cut the lead to 21-20 with a 71-yard touchdown from Phillips to Chi Henry.

Van Buren went for a twopoint conversion after the score but had the ball swatted away near the line of scrimmage. That allowed Parkview to hold a 21-20 lead with a little more than a minute left in the game.

Parkview pushed its lead out to 28-20 with just 59 seconds left to play with a 39-yard touchdown run from Jointer.

That allowed Van Buren to take over at its own 22 with 51 seconds left in the game needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game.

The Pointers with a 15-yard run from Phillips put the ball at the opposing 35 with four seconds left. But the Pointers were unable to score.

“We still had a chance,” Van Buren coach Crosby Tuck said. “Our guys just kept fighting and never gave up. That’s why I’m so proud of them.”

Parkview took a 14-7 lead heading into the break with the help of a couple rushing touchdowns and some key stops while on defense.

Parkview took the first drive of the night and marched down the field before turning the ball over on downs at the Van Buren 25.

The Patriots went for it on fourth down again on their second drive, and it worked out on the scoring drive. Rogers picked up a fourth-and-1 at the Van Buren 20 to keep the chains moving with a rush.

The drive was capped with a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Eackles to take a 7-0 lead with three minutes, 27 seconds left in the first quarter.

Van Buren got its offense going on its third drive of the game. The Pointers started at their own 25 and marched down for a touchdown.

Phillips handed the ball off a counter rush getting the defense to go one way before T.J. Dyer took the ball for a 7-yard touchdown the other way. That tied the game at 7-7 with about nine minutes left in the second quarter.

Parkview took over at its own 10 and went 90 yards for a touchdown to take a 14-7 in the second quarter. The drive was ended with a 56-yard touchdown from Rogers with about two minutes left before the break.

Van Buren had a couple opportunities to score in the second quarter but were turned away without points. A bad snap on a punt by Parkview gave Van Buren the ball at Parkview’s 3. The Pointers had to settle for a field goal attempt, but it was blocked.

The Pointers got the last drive of the first half and marched the ball inside the

Parkview 30, but the half ended before they could come away with a score.

FOUR DOWNS

• Parkview fumbled the ball three times but never lost one.

• Van Buren is now 5-3 at home since the start of last season.

• Parkview just passed the ball three times, completing one pass for 10 yards.

• 6A-West play is scheduled to continue next week. Parkview travels to Russellville, while Van Buren heads to Lake Hamilton.