Panthers’ York stifles Mustangs
Starnes York knew Central Arkansas Christian was up to something.
York, a 6-1 defensive lineman for Ashdown, caught the Mustangs for an 8-yard loss on a fourth-and-2 on the first play of the fourth quarter to send the Panthers on their way to a 48-32 victory in the regular-season finale for both teams on Friday night at Mustang Mountain.
Ashdown (8-2, 5-2 7-4A) scored the game’s final 20 points to put away the upset-minded Mustangs (4-6, 2-5). York caught CAC’s Jack Partlow while attempting a double pass to turn the momentum in the Panthers’ favor.
“York took over the game tonight,” Ashdown Coach Matt Richardson said. “He was in the backfield all night. He had a big night.”
Ashdown had taken a 3532 lead with 4:25 left in the third quarter on a 2-yard run by Brandon Northcross — one of his three touchdowns — but CAC appeared poised to retake the lead on its ensuing possession. The Mustangs drove to the Ashdown 34 and were facing a fourth-and-2 as the fourth quarter was ready to begin.
CAC quarterback Jack Thomas moved to his left before throwing a backward pass to Partlow at the 42. Partlow, however, was wrapped up by York before the Mustangs player had a chance to make an offensive move.
“I kind of expected something to that side,” said York, who sacked Thomas twice in the first half. “I shifted out to the left side of the formation and I could tell [Thomas] didn’t like that too much. I was just expecting something fishy at that point. It ended up being a double pass and I was in great position to stop the play.”
Ashdown took over on downs and responded with an eight-play, 58-yard drive that ended with Panthers’ quarterback Jake Alexander connecting with senior wide receiver LaDarius McElroy for a 32-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-10 play. That scoring pass gave Ashdown a 42-32 lead with 8:06 to play.
It was a wild night for both teams. The two teams combined for 48 first-quarter points — Ashdown led 28-20 — and each team was guilty of four turnovers.
Ashdown junior Lamontric Turner rushed for a game-high 168 yards on 19 carries, scoring the Panthers’ final touchdown on a 2-yard run with 2:05 to play.
Thomas paced the Mustangs’ attack, completing 25 of 37 passes for 299 yards and touchdown passes of 13 yards to Stephen Flanigan and 5 yards to Partlow. Thomas also scored three touchdowns on the ground, running in from 13, 3 and 5 yards. Partlow caught a game-high 11 passes for 116 yards.
The Panthers ran only eight offensive plays and held the ball for only 2:08 in the first quarter but they scored 28 points in the first 11 minutes. Northcross scored on a 36-yard interception return and on a 51-yard run. DeVaughn Sanders turned a screen pass from Jake Alexander into a 22-yard touchdown run and he also returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown.
CAC fought back from deficits of 13-0 and 28-13 to take a lead early in the second half. The Mustangs drove 70 yards on 10 plays to take a 32-28 lead with 7:51 left in the third quarter, scoring on Partlow’s 5-yard reception.
Ashdown answered with an eight-play, 68-yard drive which ended with the third touchdown of the contest for Northcross.
CAC’s final two possessions ended on interceptions by Tyler Olson and Macardo Anderson.
NASHVILLE 55, BAUXITE 28
NASHVILLE — Quarterback Lucas Liggin completed 18 of 27 passes for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Nashville to a victory over Bauxite in the 7-4A conference finale for both teams.
Darius Hopkins added 13 carries for 154 yards and 1 touchdown for the Scrappers (6-4, 4-3).
Liggin’s favorite receiver was La’Michael Pettway, who caught 5 passes for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Scrapper Leonard Snell returned a kickoff 78 yards to open the second half for one of his two scores against the Miners (1-9, 0-7).
Trent Rooks threw four touchdown passes for Bauxite, three of them to Ben Madison. But he also threw four interceptions, two each to Snell and Eric Perez.