Defense, Haywood lift Wolves past ‘Cats, 27-21

PEARCY — Lake Hamilton’s defense scored two touchdowns and made a critical stop late in the game to beat El Dorado 27-21 Friday night in the 6A-West opener for both teams.

Quarterback Dafavioun Haywood, earlier throwing a touchdown pass to Johnathan Buss, went over from one yard out with 7:56 left in the fourth quarter for the winning points.

Trailing late, the visiting Wildcats drove to the Lake Hamilton 35 before Gage Montgomery’s sack of quarterback Darius Holly gave the ball back to Lake Hamilton, which ran out the clock.

After Holly’s one-yard touchdown run made it 7-0 in the first quarter, Lake Hamilton’s Jacob Nichols tied the game on a 30-yard fumble return in the second quarter. The Wolves made it 14-7 at halftime on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Haywood to Buss with 14 seconds before the break.

Kanaan Williams scored Lake Hamilton’s second defensive touchdown on a 25-yard interception return late in the third quarter, making it 21-14. The Wildcats knotted the game again on Holly’s 69-yard touchdown pass to Blake Cunningham.

Buss finished with 101 yards rushing on 26 carries. Haywood completed three of five passes for 21 yards, adding 41 yards rushing on 13 carries with one score.

Holly completed 11 of 15 passes for 215 yards with one touchdown and one interception and rushed 10 times for 48 yards.

Lake Hamilton, 2-2 under first-year coach Jeremy Reed, goes to Texarkana next week.