Scrappers clobber Cobras
Even a three-week break could not slow down Nashville’s defense as it limited Fountain Lake to just a field goal in a 41-3 showdown Friday at Larry Beckham Memorial Field.
The Cobras (2-2, 0-2 4A-7) will have a week off after Arkadelphia had to cancel a third week of games due to COVID-19. A decision had not been made at presstime as to whether the Cobras would find another game for this Friday.
Fountain Lake has several players injured that need the break to recuperate.
“Moving forward, we have to get healthy, and I’m not sure how many of our injured players will be back, said Fountain Lake head
coach Kenny Shelton. “We will have to get some young guys ready to step up for those who are injured.”
Shelton said that the Cobras’ defense was tough in the first half, but missteps on offense led to scores by the Scrappers.
“We gave up 21 points, but we had several turnovers and gave Nashville the short field several times,” he explained. “We had a chance to make it 21-7 going into half, but they stopped us on fourthand-inches on what I thought was a bad spot. I think that really took the wind out of our sails.”
With about four minutes left in the first quarter, senior Keyshawn Stewart sprinted 10 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead after sophomore Obed Aguilar’s point-after attempt. Nashville (3-1, 1-0) squeezed in one more score as senior Dontrelle Robinson ran it in from the 1 with 33 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The Scrappers scored once more with 5:40 left in the half as Stewart capped a 10-play, 59-yard drive and Aguilar’s third kick was successful for a 21-0 halftime lead.
The Cobras had some difficulty moving the ball in the second half as a pass from junior quarterback Jack Wurz was picked off by junior Scrapper Riley Dodd who rushed it to the Cobras’ 15-yard line. The defensive play set up senior quarterback Ty Gordon for a 11-yard touchdown with 9:51 in the third, but Aguilar’s kick was denied, leaving the score at 27-0.
Fountain Lake senior Seth Hughes took advantage of a hole in the field to speed to the Scrappers 14-yard line on the ensuing kickoff. A pass from Wurz to classmate Asa Westerman and a Nashville penalty moved the Cobras to the 8.
The Cobras finally found their way onto the scoreboard with sophomore Wesley Campbell splitting the uprights with 8:05 remaining in the third quarter.
“We had four starters who were injured — three of them before the end of the first half,” Shelton explained. “The second half, we gassed out and just couldn’t get anything going besides one trip that stalled them in the red zone, and Wesley Campbell kicked a field goal to give us our only score of the game.”
Sophomore Trystan Redifer recovered a Nashville fumble, but the Cobras were unable to benefit from the play as senior La’dainian Hendrix intercepted a Wurz pass at the Cobras 24. After a fiveyard gain, the Scrappers made use of a unsportsmanlike conduct call against Fountain Lake with Gordon dashing in on a 5-yard touchdown and broadening the spread with Aguilar’s kick, 34-3, with 6:25 on the clock.
Nashville continued to dominate on the ground as 2:42 later, Gordon connected with Stewart for a 47-yard passing touchdown and invoking the sportsmanship rule. Aguilar’s PAT set the final.
Shelton said that the adjustments the team made were not enough to overcome the Scrappers.
“Nashville had a great defensive plan and executed quite well,” Shelton said. “We tried several adjustments and couldn’t get any of them to be successful. I knew Nashville would be prepared to play. They are well-coached, and I knew they would be ready after their extended time off.”
The Cobras will travel to Bauxite (14, 0-2) on Oct. 16.