Freshman QB lifts Earle with arm, legs

EARLE 34, BRINKLEY 0

EARLE — The Earle Bulldogs scored on four consecutive first-half possessions and cruised to a spot in the Class 2A semifinals with 34-0 victory over Brinkley Friday night.

The Bulldogs (10-3) led 28-0 at the half.

Dontrelle Jefferson’s 1-yard run late in the third quarter capped the scoring.

Earle travels to face twotime defending state champion Junction City on the road next week, with the winner advancing to the state final at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Brinkley (7-5) held Earle junior running back Richard Merritt, who was coming off back-to-back 200-yard games, to 79 yards on 19 carries, but Earle freshman quarterback Gerry Bohanon picked up the slack.

Bohanon completed 10 of 14 passing for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bohanon threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Markus Lane. Bohanon also threw a touchdown pass to Tevin Scott, who had four catches for 68 yards.

Bohanon also rushed 4 times for 46 yards and two touchdowns — on runs of 15 and 1 yard.

“We felt like we’d have a chance to throw on them throughout the game, and once we showed that we could throw it around, they had to go to a more zone responsibility and that opened up some holes for us in the second half,” Earle Coach A.C. Coleman said.

Earle’s defense held Brinkley to 10 first downs, half of them coming in the fourth quarter when the outcome was decided.

“I honestly feel like anytime you have the amount of seniors that we have on this team, that want it that bad, you can have some success,” Coleman said.

Earle’s first score came on Bohanon’s 15-yard run for a 6-0 lead and 10:34 remaining in the second quarter.

Earle capitalized on a fumble recovery on its next drive, with Bohanon completing a 70-yard pass after two personal fouls on the same play pushed the Bulldogs back to a first-and-30 situation. Bohanon added the two-point conversion for a 14-0 lead.

Bohanon’s 1-yard run and Merritt’s two-point conversion run made it 22-0.

Bohanon’s touchdown pass to Scott with 13 seconds left in the first half made it 28-0.