Lamar takes care of business in finale

LAMAR — When a big play was needed Friday night, the Lamar defense was up to the task at Warrior Stadium. The unit made its presence known early and often as Lamar pulled away for a 59-28 victory against Central Arkansas Christian on senior night.

The defense came away with three takeaways in the game, and the offense turned those into 21 points. Central Arkansas Christian took the opening drive of the game all the way to Lamar’s 1 before fumbling, and Lamar’s Jonathan Danti fell on the ball for the fumble recovery.

The Mustangs’ second drive was halted with an interception by Lamar’s Lane Miller. Those turnovers allowed Lamar to build a 14-0 first- quarter lead. The defense wasn’t done for the night with the takeaways though.

Lamar’s Lee Harkreader intercepted a pass that allowed the offense to march down the field for a 35-13 lead in the second quarter.

Central Arkansas Christian took the opening drive of the second half and needed just five plays to cut Lamar’s edge to just 35-28. The defense then forced three consecutive turnovers on downs to help seal the game while Lamar scored the final four touchdowns of the night.

Lamar (8-2, 6-2) with the win was able to earn the No. 2 seed from the 4A- 4 Conference with the help of Bauxite upsetting conference champion Haskell Harmony Grove.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Lamar sophomore quarterback Caleb Green used a little misdirection to provide a big spark for the Warriors on a 94- yard touchdown rush. On the second drive of the night backed up deep in Lamar territory, Green faked a handoff up the middle.

It got the attention of three defenders, which created a wide-open lane on the right side of the line of scrimmage.

With the help of some blocking, Green went untouched down the right sideline to the end zone. The one-play drive that followed an interception gave Lamar a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Lamar senior fullback Damien Hendrix has been a workhorse for the Warriors all season. In the biggest game of the year so far with seeding on the line, he turned in one of his better performances of the season.

He finished with 156 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries to celebrate senior night. His longest rush of the night was his first going for 53 yards. He had touchdowns runs of 6, 2, 3 and 3 yards to score in all four quarters for the Warriors. Hendrix played on the defensive line the entire night and had a sack as well.

INJURY REPORT

Lamar was able to remain healthy for the most part but did have Jonathon Rice leave the game with an injury.

NOTABLE

Hendrix continued his strong season and now has 1,340 yards after finishing last year with 706 yards. … Jarrett Dalton wasn’t too far behind Hendrix with his performance Friday. He finished with 147 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 11 carries. … Dalton is now up to 883 rushing yards on the season. … The Lamar defense now has eight turnovers in the past two games after finishing with 5 last week in a come-from-behind victory against Clinton and 3 this week against CAC. … It was a bend but don’t break effort from the Lamar defense, which allowed 417 yards of offense and 6.5 yards per play.

UP NEXT

Lamar now heads into the playoffs where it will try to top last year’s magical run into the quarterfinals, making it to that round for the first time as a 4A school. Without an official bracket because of games being played Saturday, Lamar remains without a known opponent. It is projected to be Riverview. But one thing Lamar does know: it’ll be at home this week after finishing as conference runner-ups.