Lack of depth downs Eagles against Rattlers

MURFREESBORO — Cutter Morning Star stuck with Murfreesboro for most of the first half, but injuries and a lack of depth left the Eagles with a 64-38 road loss Friday night.

“We had some guys not make it all the way through the game, so guys had to step in and play positions they didn’t really get to practice,” Eagles head coach Matt Kinsinger said. “I was really proud of our kids. They are so resilient; it’s crazy just — they were so resilient to play positions they haven’t played before and just to go out there like they had been practicing them for weeks, to be able to execute the plays and make things happen. I was pretty impressed with them. It was good to see that type of response in a moment like that.”

The Rattlers (3-3) struck first, scoring on a 3-yard run before being denied on the conversion play, but the Eagles (0-6) responded immediately with quarterback Sam Moore finding Kaden Prather on a 65-yard strike on the first play from scrimmage to knot the score. Moore then broke free on a 24-yard run, and LaShawn Jones ran the ball in on the conversion to take a 14-6 lead.

Murfreesboro added four straight touchdowns, finding the end zone on two of the conversion plays to take a 34-14 lead. Cutter Morning Star backup quarterback Landon Watson found Mitchel Herron on a 49-yard strike with Jones on the conversion to pull within two scores, but two more Rattler touchdowns before the break left the Eagles with a 46-22 deficit.

The Eagles cut the deficit down to 52-38 early in the fourth, but two more Rattler scores set the final.

Watson was 10 for 26 passing for 148 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions while rushing 17 times for 106 yards. Moore, who went down in the first half, was 2 for 3 for 68 yards and a touchdown, and he had five carries for 25 yards and a score.

“I had to put Landon in there,” Kinsinger said. “He hadn’t practiced a quarterback probably since we played at Dierks a couple weeks ago. He stepped right in there and led the charge. He did good.”

Prather led the receivers corps with three catches for 69 yards and a score. Keshawn Blevins had five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown, and Herron (49) and Clayton Weldon (22) had one catch each, both for touchdowns. Weldon also led the Eagles defense with 19 stops, including 10 solo tackles, and Watson had 9 tackles.

Kinsinger said that he was very pleased to see his team battle through 192 plays, despite the low numbers.

“That’s a lot for whenever you turn around and look at the sideline and you’ve got three kids,” he said. “Everybody else is on the field. Hopefully next week we’ll be able to get a couple kids back after they’ve been out for tracing and waiting on test results and everything.”

The Eagles open up conference play on Friday at Poyen (5-0). Murfreesboro hosts Mineral Springs (2-3) for its conference opener.

Hot Springs 63, Hope 42

HOPE — Devin Johnson and Kaimani Gray combined for five of Hot Springs’ touchdowns as the Trojans (2-2, 1-0 5A-South) defeated Hope (1-3, 1-1) in an offensive slugfest. Johnson rushed for 316 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns while Gray had six receptions for 239 yards and three touchdowns for the Trojans. Hot Springs tallied 745 yards of offense, 451 rushing, while holding Hope to 287 yards. Hot Springs struck first with quarterback Isaac Shelor finding Gray for touchdown passes of 54 and 63 yards for a 14-0 lead with 2:31 left in the first after Juan Martinez’ kick. Hope got on the scoreboard with a 33-yard sprint by Ammorrion Dempsey to cap a two-play, 66-yard drive and pull the Bobcats within 14-7 with 1:49 left in the first.

Hot Springs and Hope traded touchdowns throughout the second quarter with the Trojans taking a 35-21 lead at the half. The Trojans added

three more scores in the third while shutting out the Hempstead County team, who made a 21-7 comeback in the fourth.

Shelor completed 13 of 21 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns, Akeem Dorsey had six carries for 99 yards and two scores, and Shelor ran four times for 30 yards and a score. Johnson had a 23-yard catch, and Pierce Smalley had two for 16 yards and the other touchdown. Johnson also led the Trojan defense with 12 tackles, including eight solo stops.

Dempsey, the Bobcats’ quarterback, found his target 3 of 14 times with two interceptions and one touchdown, rushing 17 times for 149 yards and a touchdown. Cherleerome McFadden had one catch for 58 yards and a TD. Javarous Solomon had six solo stops to lead the Bobcats defense.

Malvern 43, Benton Harmony Grove 0

BENTON — Quarterback Cedric Simmons threw for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns and added 73 rushing yards and a touchdown as Malvern (3-2, 2-0 4A-7) routed Benton Harmony Grove (0-5, 0-2).

Jacobe Hart had 10 carries for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Leopards.

Keith Caradine had a 57-yard scoring run, and Dante Reed and Seth Stewart each caught touchdown passes.

Des Arc 47, Mount Ida 14

DES ARC —Mount Ida (2-3) could not get things going as Des Arc (5-0) took a 40-0 lead into halftime.

Baylor Bates led the Lions with 75 yards and two touchdowns — 35 and 15 yards, both in the fourth quarter. Jack Hoeksema snagged his sixth interception of the year.

The Eagles threw a deep pass with two minutes left in the game to set the final.