Talented Patriots too much for Panthers

LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock Parkview took the suspense out of Friday’s game in the first quarter.

A pair of turnovers by Siloam Springs helped the Patriots’ cause.

Parkview scored four firstquarter touchdowns, including a pick six and another score after a Siloam Springs fumble, to roll to a 37-0 victory at War Memorial Stadium.

“I thought the first quarter was the best we’ve put out all year,” Parkview coach Brad Bolding said. “I thought both sides of the ball we really played well. We didn’t really make a lot of mistakes, and we forced a couple of big turnovers. That obviously gave us some momentum.”

Parkview (6-1, 3-1 6A-West) opened the game with a 66-yard scoring drive that saw James Jointer run in from 16 yards out to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead.

Siloam Springs senior safety Elijah Coffey was injured on the drive and didn’t return to the game adding to a long list of injuries for the banged up Panthers.

The Panthers were able to pick up a first down and move the ball near midfield, but Parkview held and forced a punt.

Back on offense, the Patriots engineered another 72-yard scoring drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Landon Rogers to Willie Eackles to go up 14-0.

Parkview’s Tayvion Haney picked off a Hunter Talley pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown for a 21-0 lead on Siloam Springs’ second offensive possession.

On the Panthers’ third possession, Zach Gunneman fumbled and Parkview’s Trent Bennett recovered and returned to the 25-yard line.

On the next play, Rogers threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jakeylen Haney for a 28-0 lead.

“We can’t simulate game speed in practice,” Siloam Springs coach Brandon Craig said. “So when we get to a team like this that has a tremendous amount of speed, it shows up in the first quarter.”

Siloam Springs’ defense settled in and got a turnover on downs in the second quarter.

Siloam Springs’ offense crossed midfield with Talley hitting a 13-yard pass to Brendan Lashley and a 12-yard pass to Christian Ledeker, but the drive stalled at the Patriots’ 45.

Siloam Springs was able to pin Parkview on the 3-yard line with a punt with just a couple of minutes left before half.

The Patriots drove to the Siloam Springs 18 and added to their lead when Giovanny Revvelta kicked a 35-yard field goal just before halftime for a 31-0 lead.

“After the first quarter we settled down,” Craig said. “We gave up 3 points with no time on the clock at the end of the half. It was a tale of two quarters for us. We caught up and we were able to play a little faster. We just struggled all night offensively. We’re battling some injuries in key spots. We didn’t use the quarterback run game tonight to try and make sure we get everybody healthy. It was just a tough night from the standpoint offensively we couldn’t generate anything against their defense.”

In the second half, Rogers and the Parkview offense got one play which went for a 40-yard touchdown pass to Eackles and a 37-0 lead.

The remainder of the second half was played with a running clock.

Parkview outgained Siloam

Springs 331-100 on the night.

Rogers, an Arkansas commitment and one of six Division I prospects, started 6 of 6 passing and finished 9 of 15 for 135 yards and three touchdowns. Rogers also rushed seven times for 51 yards.

Jointer led in rushing with 10 carries for 70 yards, while Eackles had four carries for 52 yards and two receptions for 47 yards.

The Patriots were an impressive football team, Craig said.

“I’d say they have more talent than anybody in our league,” he said. “They’re probably the most talented team by far. There’s a few things that probably hurt them, but other than that I think they’re probably the most talented team we’ve seen all year.”

The Patriots held Siloam Springs (3-6, 1-5) to 54 rushing yards on 31 carries and 46 yards passing. Jeff Phizema had 39 rushing yards on 21 carries. Talley completed 7 of 12 passes for 46 yards. Lashley led with three catches for 21 yards.

Siloam Springs has lost five straight games since beating Van Buren 43- 42 in overtime on Sept. 25.

The Panthers will try to clinch a No. 6 seed from the 6A-West Conference with a win at Russellville in the regular season finale this Friday.

Russellville (1-8, 0-6) lost 24-7 at Mountain Home last Friday.