Lions take charge against MP
MOUNT IDA — Mount Ida’s biggame experience paid dividends against Mountain Pine Friday night at Stidman Field.
Jonathan Lagrange scored four touchdowns, two in the third quarter, as the defending Class 2A champions led Mountain Pine 42-22 in the fourth quarter. At stake was first place in Class 2A-7 with both teams 5-0 in conference games, Mount Ida at 8-0 and Mountain Pine 7-1 overall.
Foreman, 6-1 before Friday night’s game against winless Murfreesboro, visits Mountain Pine Thursday night while Mount Ida finishes the regular season at Lafayette County. The Lions have not lost since Week 8 of the 2016 season against Dierks, going on to the program’s second state championship last year. Mount Ida is ranked No. 1 in Arkansas Class 2A by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Hootens’ Arkansas Football.
Mountain Pine, which forfeited eight games last year because of a numbers shortage, has been one of the surprise teams of the Arkansas high school season. The Red Devils went to Mount Ida on a seven-game winning streak after a 35-0 Week 1 loss to Jessieville.
Touchdown runs of 54 and 10 yards by Fay Haywood, followed by Chad Graves’ extra points, gave Mountain Pine a 7-0 lead and 14-14 tie, respectively. The game was tied for less than two minutes, Lagrange going over from a yard out with 2:05 before halftime.
Lagrange had third-quarter touchdown runs of five and four yards, making it 3514. Mountain Pine’s Collin Smith scored from a yard out with 8:26 left in the game, Haywood adding a two-point conversion.
Bridger Farmer scored a Mount Ida touchdown from seven yards out with
6:27 left, Allenbrand kicking the Lions’
42nd point.
Lagrange’s four-yard touchdown run and Tyler Allenbrand’s first of five straight extra points made it 7-7. Cade Jackson’s one-yard run put Mount Ida ahead with
4:02 left in the first quarter.
J’ville-Centerpoint
ROSBORO — In a virtual win-orelse game concerning the state playoffs, Jessieville spotted Centerpoint an early touchdown before going up 18-7 at halftime Friday night at Knights Stadium.
Jessieville scored three straight touchdowns after Centerpoint went up 7-0 on Blake Crawford’s three-yard touchdown run and Eric Valdez’ extra point five minutes into the game. The Lions set the halftime margin on a 40-yard pass from Adam Saveall that two Centerpoint players deflected into the hands of receiver Cade Glisson. With no time on the clock, a two-point attempt failed, but Jessieville went to the locker room with a rush of euphoria.
Jessieville pulled within 7-6 on Dylan Wright’s three-yard run with 4:08 left in the first quarter, the conversion attempt failing. The Lions led 12-7, 3:35 left in the first quarter, after Logan Perkins’ 11-yard fumble return following a high snap to the Centerpoint punter.
Wright carried 15 times for 107 yards in the first half, Jessieville outgaining Centerpoint 179-92.
Jessieville entered 4-4 overall, 2-3 in conference, with defending Class 3A champion Prescott coming to Phillips Field on Thursday. Centerpoint, a Class 3A quarterfinalist last year, also was 4-4 for the season but 1-4 in conference. The Knights finish the regular season Thursday at Bismarck.