Batesville hits ground, bulldozes Beebe

BEEBE — The Batesville Pioneers completed a clean sweep of the 5A-East Conference, downing the Beebe Badgers 45-14 on Friday night.

Batesville (8-2, 7-0) came into the game with a lock on the No. 1 seed in the East, and tuned up for the first round of the playoffs with a sharp performance against the Badgers (5-5, 4-3).

Batesville hosts the Greenbrier Panthers, the fourth seed from the 5A-West, next Friday.

“We’ve locked up with them twice before,” Batesville Coach Dave King said. “They’ve had a good program over there. That’s one of our three goals, to win a conference championship. We’ve had good senior leadership this year.”

The Pioneers rushed for 370 yards, with Jalen Haynes rushing 9 times for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the way. Quarterback Kenton Crawford finished with 200 total yards and two touchdowns.

Batesville built a 31-7 halftime lead, using a 32-yard field goal by Osvaldo Espericueta to go up 3-0, then scoring touchdowns on its next four possessions.

Haynes ran 50 yards for a touchdown barely one minute into the second quarter, and after a Beebe three-and-out, the Pioneers needed two plays to add on. Eli Childress ran in from 35 yards out to make it 17-7.

Batesville struck quickly after Beebe’s score. Crawford lofted a pass for Joel Caraway, who outjumped two defenders for a 46-yard touchdown grab. Crawford then directed a smooth two-minute drill for Batesville, taking the team 63 yards in the final 1:35 of the half. Crawford rolled right from the 13, then cut back and darted for the end zone with four seconds left in the half.