Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Hillbillies use powerful 2nd half to down Eagles
OZARK — The Ozark Hillbillies started very fast, hit a lull and then really found their stride in the second half.
Ozark scored on three of its last four possessions to put away Huntsville, 48-18, on Friday night in the opener of the Class 4A playoffs at Hillbilly Stadium.
Ozark (8-2) returns home in the second round to host Crossett, which defeated Pottsville, 49-7, also in the first round.
Ozark junior quarterback Landon Wright hit Eli Masengale for a 24-yard gain on the first play of the game and then reeled off a 58-yard touchdown run for a quick 7- 0 lead following Yobani Zarate’s placement just 47 seconds into the game.
The Hillbillies suffered penalties on three straight plays to kill their next drive, had to punt on its next series, and lost fumbles on two other first-half possessions.
“First series, we came out and scored right off the bat,” Ozark Coach Jeremie Burns said. “The second series, we had some issues lining up and getting plays called.”
Huntsville (4-7) answered Ozark’s quick- strike score with a brilliant drive, marching 50 yards in 13 plays. The Eagles converted a pair of third downs and a fourth down, lining up in the Power-I and scoring on a 1-yard burst by Tucker Bradley lined up as fullback. Huntsville missed the extra point, leaving Ozark’s lead at 7-6.
Masengale bumped Ozark’s lead to 13- 6 on a 5-yard run, reaching across to score with 7:33 left in the first half.
Huntsville threatened late in the first half, driving to the Ozark 10 before losing a fumble with 2:57 left in the second quarter that was recovered by Ozark’s Dylan McCormick.
“We thought we had some momentum in the first half,” Huntsville Coach Matt Williams said. “We were playing really, really well. Then we dropped the ball and things kind of steamrolled from there. They’re a really good football team. We knew it was going to be a physical game and a tough game. We knew we couldn’t make mistakes and give them anything. Those turnovers really hurt us.”
Wright sprinted 71 yard up the middle on the first play after the turnover and scored two plays later on a 1-yard run for a 20-6 lead with 1:55 left in the half.
Ozark took command in the second half, both offensively and defensively.
The Hillbillies forced Huntsville to punt after just three plays to start the third quarter and needed just five plays to score on Wright’s 18yard darting-and-weaving run with 8:57 left.
“We stopped them right off the bat,” Burns said. “That was big. Then the offense went right down and scored. We came out in a couple of different sets. We were able to control the ball like that.”
Huntsville’s junior quarterback Amos Mayes hit Kolton Reynolds on an 86yard touchdown pass for Huntsville with 7:58 left in the third quarter to trim its deficit to 27-12, but Ozark scored on three of its next four series.
“They’re a good team,” Burns said. “They came out and played us hard. I knew it was going to be a battle. Once we settled in, we were kind of able to pull away from them with the turnovers and stuff.”
Wright scored on a 3-yard run for a 34-12 lead with 3:53 left in third quarter and then on a 9-yard run four plays into the final quarter for a 4112 lead.
Backup quarterback M.J. Parker added a 3-yard with 6:38 left for a 48-12 advantage.
Ozark finished with 394 yards on the ground on 46 carries led by Wright, who had 15 rushes for 197 yards and the 5 touchdowns. Masengale added 11 tries for 98 yards.
“Our big guys did a great job of opening up the holes,” Burns said. “Landon did a good job of reading our option. They were giving us that so we kept rolling with it.”
Mayes finished 14- of-28 passing for 150 yards and a touchdown for Huntsville. Reynolds had six catches for 111 yards.