Wynne needs every yard to hold off patient Beebe
WYNNE 35, BEEBE 28
WYNNE — Wynne’s defense bent, but the Beebe Badgers could not break the Yellowjackets during Friday night’s Class 5A semifinal, and Wynne escaped with 3528 victory and a spot in the state championship game for the first time since 2004.
Wynne outscored Beebe 14-7 in the second half after the game was tied 21-21 at halftime, led by quarterback Ross Trail, who scored the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard run with 8:10 to play. Trail’s run capped a 10-play, 51-yard drive that consumed 3:03 of the fourth quarter.
Trail accounted for five touchdowns: He completed 11 of 17 passing for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for 32 yards and 2 scores.
Sophomore receiver Devontae Pounds caught 5 passes for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns for Wynne.
Yellowjackets Coach Chris Hill said Wynne knew it had to score on every possession to win.
“It worked out just the way we thought it would and if we could get the ball first in the second half and swap scores we knew we would win the ballgame,” Hill said.
Beebe gained 346 yards offensively, all on the ground, with Tripp Smith carrying 32 times and scoring three touchdowns. Jovaughn Wyrick carried 23 times for 167 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown, for the Badgers.
“You don’t see it but once a year, but hats off to them,” Hill said of the Beebe offense. “Their coach does a real good job over there and we’re just glad to get a win. We’re going to celebrate tonight and get ready for next Saturday night.”
Beebe had a chance to tie the game with under a minute remaining but Jalen Young intercepted Beebe quarterback Aaron Nunez on fourth and 11 from the Wynne 30 to end the game. Young previously tackled Wyrick for a 7-yard loss on the previous third and 4 play.
“We got a great stop by our defense when we needed it,” Hill said “It’s just a great win for our program.”
The Badgers tied the game 28-28 with 11:13 in the fourth quarter when Smith scored for the third time, this one from 1 yard out, to cap an 18play, 65-yard drive that covered 10:03. Beebe’s held the ball for just under 38 of the game’s 48 minutes and converted on 6 of 8 fourth-down attempts. Wynne scored the only other touchdown of the second half came when Trail scored on a 14-yard run with 9:29 left in the third quarter to put the Yellowjackets ahead 28-21.
“They convert on fourth down and keep the ball moving,” Hill said of Beebe. “It was tough tonight and exactly what we thought, but we’re excited to win.”