May, Harrel carry Booneville to conference title
For the Booneville Bearcats, it usually starts with the fullback. It cleary did Friday night in Booneville’s 47-17, conference-clinching victory over the Maumelle Hornets at Hornet Stadium.
Junior fullback Bryson May rushed for 137 yards and four touchdowns — three in the first half — at Hornet Stadium to help assure Booneville’s victory, and its spot as a No. 1 seed in the Class 4A state playoffs, which begin next week.
“Obviously he had a big night,” Booneville Coach Scott Hyatt said. “He works real hard in the weight room. He’s had a good year for us.”
Booneville (10-0, 7-0 4-4A) held momentum after May’s second touchdown gave it a 14-0 lead with 2:19 left in the second quarter.
“We always want to get our fullback going,” Booneville quarterback Cody Harrel said. “That’s Booneville football. If we can do that, it opens everything up for everyone else.”
Maumelle (9-1, 6-1) managed just one first down on its first two possessions, but a 31-yard pass from quarterback Tyshaun Robinson to Braylon Waits put the ball at the Booneville 11 on its third. Booneville held Maumelle to a 27-yard field goal from Hunter Cockrell with 11:57 left in the second quarter, but Maumelle had at least demonstrated an ability to score.
Still, there appeared to be no stopping Booneville. On its next possession, as on the previous two, Harrel and May alternated option carries, with a sprinkling of runs by Matt Berry and Josh Smith, on a 16-play drive, completed with a 1-yard touchdown run by May with 3:05 left before halftime.
“I thought Booneville looked real good on film,” Maumelle Coach Mike Buchan said. “And tonight I thought they looked better than what I saw.”
Harrel rushed 15 times for 121 yards and 1 touchdown.
“He’s an athlete,” Hyatt said. “He’s been a playmaker for us.”
Robinson continued a successful run of passing on Maumelle’s final first-half possession. He completed passes of 6, 30, and 8 yards on a drive capped by his 1-yard sneak that cut Booneville’s lead to 21-10 seconds before halftime.
Robinson completed 9 of 13 passes for 168 yards, and rushed 16 times for 82 yards.
“Our offense can show up a lot at times, and they did tonight,” Buchan said. “But our defense didn’t play well at all. We just couldn’t stop them.”
Harrel scored on a 46-yard keeper to give Booneville a 28-10 lead on its second possession of the third quarter.
But, again, Maumelle rebounded and was within 28-17 after tailback Corry Cullins’ 12-yard touchdown run with 4:35 left in the third quarter.
Unfortunately for Maumelle, that would be it.
“They have a lot of good athletes,” said Harrel, who also starts in Booneville’s defensive backfield. “I thought we did a pretty good job to hold them to 17 points.”
Booneville led 34-17 after May’s final touchdown, on a 3-yard run, on the first play of fourth quarter. A little over three minutes later, the lead was 41-17 following reserve back Justin Shackleford’s 16yard touchdown run.
Victory was out of reach for Maumelle after its next possession, when Booneville defensive lineman Dalton Gray scooped a dropped pitch and returned it 21 yards to complete the scoring with 9:19 left to play.