Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Physical Play Lifts Junior Tigers To Victory Against Lions
PRAIRIE GROVE DEFEATS GRAVETTE 22-6
PRAIRIE GROVE — Gravette was forced to wage an uphill battle and was unable to match the aggressive play of Prairie Grove’s junior high football squad, which won, 22-6, Thursday.
“They came out at us, it’s all about physicality,” said Gravette coach Duke Mobley. “Tonight, we were physical in spurts, but not all the time. They ( Prairie Grove), Coach (Danny) Abshier, Coach (John) Elder and Coach ( Craig) Laird, they do a great job getting them ready to play. Hopefully, we can pick up our physicality. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
From the opening kickoff, Prairie Grove played aggressive, controlling the clock and imposing their will offensively. The junior Tigers chewed up most of the first quarter clock with a long, sustained drive deep into Gravette territory. At last, the junior Lions were able to get back- to- back tackles, combining for 11 yards in losses, and the drive ended when Prairie Grove turned the ball over on downs.
The drawback was poor starting field position for the junior Lions, who were shut out in the first half. Cade Grant (7 rushes, 134 yards) set up a Prairie Grove score with a 67-yard run in the second quarter. On the next play, Layman Foster put the junior Tigers on the scoreboard with a 5-yard touchdown run with 5:25 left before halftime. He added a 2-point run for an 8-0 Prairie Grove lead.
A disastrous start to the second half put Gravette in a deeper hole. A late blockin- the- back after a play was over backed the junior Lions up 15 yards. After the penalty was marked off, Gravette lined up to punt from the shadow of the goal they were defending only to have Keiandrae Hobbs crash through from the edge and block the kick. Prairie Grove recovered at the Gravette nine with 6:07 to play in the third quarter.
Prairie Grove head junior high coach John Elder said Hobbs made an awesome play. Assistant coach Mason Pinkley was also impressed with Hobbs’ play.
“Keiandrae is our strong safety, he’s that hybrid guy that plays both secondary and linebacker,” Pinkley said. “He’s just a playmaker. He blocked a punt.”
A penalty put the junior Tigers at first-and-goal from the 19, yet they still banged their way into the end zone. Jadin Higgins picked up 10 yards on a quarterback keeper. Another penalty set the line of scrimmage at the 14, but Grant ran hard on a counter. He was hit at the five, but dragged three tacklers into the end zone with him. Gravette stopped a run on the conversion attempt, but trailed 14-0 with 4:54 to go in the third.
The junior Lions fought to get back in the game. Chace Austin showed some toughness. On second-and-seven from the junior Lion 36, he was belted by Prairie Grove strong safety Harrison Lowe and lost a yard after catching a wide receiver screen pass to the right.
“Harrison Lowe, he does a good job, he’s undersized, but he surprises a little bit with his size,” Pinkley said. “I always knew he could run and cover, but he’s stepped up his game and been more physical this year.”
Undaunted, Gravette came back with quarterback Kaleb Furow completing another screen pass to Austin, this time on the left. Austin went against the grain running to his right. Reaching the right hashmark, he turned the corner and raced down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown. A 2-point pass conversion failed, but Gravette had narrowed the margin to a one score game of 14-6 at the 2:57 mark of the third period.
“Austin is really scary with the ball in his hands,” Pinkley said. “We did a really good job. He only got out on us once.”
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Cy Hilger recovered a Prairie Grove fumbled option pitch ending a threat at the junior Lions’ 24. A 15- yard penalty on first down killed any hopes of a drive and Gravette had to punt setting up a short field for Prairie Grove at the junior Lion 30. After allowing Grant 20 yards on a run, Gravette dug in defensively at their own 10, but Prairie Grove converted fourth-andgoal with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Higgins to Marshall Montgomery, who made a spectacular catch in traffic.
“That was huge,” Elder said. “I wasn’t even looking at that guy. I saw him throw it. I went, ‘holy cow,’ then I saw Marshall catch it. He came up with a great catch. He had two big catches tonight. He did an outstanding job. I was really proud of him.”
Hobbs tacked on a 2-point run and the junior Tigers went on to a 22-6 victory. Contributing offensively for the junior Tigers were: Jared Harger, 8 carries for 45 yards; Hobbs, 8 carries for 42 yards; and Montgomery 2 pass receptions for 16 yards.