Senators edge Cobras for 7-on-7 championship

FOUNTAIN LAKE — After knocking off two Class 6A contenders to reach the championship game in Friday’s annual 7-on-7 football tournament on Allen Tillery Field at Beckham Memorial Stadium, the host Fountain Lake Cobras fell just short in a matchup with a familiar foe.

Trailing by as much as 16 points against 4A-7 conference rival Pulaski Robinson, Fountain Lake marched for a touchdown with four minutes to play and came away with an interception in the final two minutes to turn a potential blowout into a compelling matchup.

With the Cobras trailing 23-16 in the final minute, the comeback bid ended when Stephen Turner’s third-down pass attempt fell incomplete, allowing the Senators to run out the final 30 seconds and secure the win.

Despite the disappointing end, first-year Fountain Lake coach J.D. Plumlee was proud of the way his team battled throughout the tournament against formidable competition.

“With this new system, we’re going to throw the ball a lot more and we’re learning on every snap,” Plumlee said. “We just competed; our kids battled. We had guys playing both ways and our kids played with a whole bunch of guts after the lunch break.”

A Lakeside graduate and former Malvern assistant, Plumlee spent last season as offensive coordinator for Class 6A champion Russellville.

After a shaky start in pool play, the Cobras earned the No. 4 seed and a first-round matchup with Lake Hamilton and former coach Tommy Gilleran. Gilleran is entering his first year with the Wolves after 13 years at Fountain Lake, highlighted by a 2009 Class 3A championship.

The Cobras got the better of their former coach, thanks in large part to a stingy defense. Fountain Lake gained an early 18-0 lead after two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“We just preach flying to the ball, and that’s what we did today,” said Plumlee. “We were playing with active hands, swatting balls down and bumping on the line of scrimmage. We were just playing good, fundamental defense; we were getting where we’re supposed to be and we weren’t chasing.”

Trailing 32-14 with two minutes to play, Lake Hamilton grabbed an interception and scored a touchdown on the final play of the game to set the final margin at 32-23.

The win put the Cobras in the semifinals against top-seeded Benton, the Panthers finishing undefeated in pool play before cruising past Poyen in a first-round matchup.

Fountain Lake struck first with a touchdown five minutes into the game and an interception less than three minutes later, making it 9-0.

Entering his first season as the starting quarterback, Turner finished with seven touchdowns and two interceptions in three games.

“I’m super proud of him, because he’s picked up on this offense really well,” Plumlee said. “He made some big-time throws today against Lake Hamilton, and even against Robinson, he was making some tight throws against a very speedy defense.”

The Panthers pulled within 9-7 with a touchdown at the eight-minute mark, but got no closer. Fountain Lake’s defense held Benton without a score for the rest of the game and clinched the 11-7 win with an interception in the final minute.

Robinson defeated Benton’s junior varsity team in the other semifinal to set the stage for the championship game between league rivals.

While a 7-on-7 tournament is vastly different from a Friday-night matchup in the regular season, Plumlee was pleased with his team’s performance and believes it gave the Cobras something to build on in the coming weeks.

“Anything can happen; we’re going to play until that final buzzer goes off,” he said. “We’re learning that with this offense we can score just as quick as anybody and if we keep playing, anything can happen.”