Earning their stripes
PB breaks through for first title since 1995
Pine Bluff quarterback Ladarius Skelton dives over Benton’s Simeon Watson for a second-quarter touchdown in the Zebras’ 51-10 victory Friday night in the Class 6A state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Pine Bluff wasn’t going to be denied this time.
The Zebras finished with 523 yards of total offense, including 357 rushing, in their 51-10 rout of 6A-South Conference rival Benton on Friday night in the Class 6A state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Pine Bluff (10-3) had lost the past two Class 6A state championship games — 5144 to Greenwood in 2012 and 31-24 to El Dorado last season — but it took control early Friday night and led 20-7 before a lightning delay interrupted the day with 7:51 left in the second quarter.
The delay lasted 1 hour and 8 minutes, but it didn’t slow down the Zebras, who won their ninth state championship recognized by the Arkansas Activities Association. It marked their first since 1995.
Pine Bluff Coach Bobby Bolding earned his second state championship, with his first coming at Stuttgart in 2002.
“I feel really good,” Bolding said. “I’m really happy for the kids. They worked really hard for this.”
Junior quarterback Ladarius Skelton accounted for 285 yards and six touchdowns for the Zebras. He rushed for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns on 13 carries and completed 8 of 14 passes for 166 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Running backs Romar Reades and Kentorious White added 106 and 96 rushing yards, respectively. Reades had a 24-yard touchdown run in the second half as the Zebras pulled away from the Panthers (11-1-1).
“We’ve came here three years in a row and I lost two,” said White, one of 17 seniors on Pine Bluff’s roster. “I told Coach in the summer time I wasn’t losing a third one. I promised him. “I didn’t lose it. I got it.” Senior receiver Tyran Simmons had 3 catches for 69 yards and 2 touchdowns and his twin brother Kyran caught a 62-yard touchdown pass.
Pine Bluff held Benton to 346 yards and limited senior receiver Drew Harris to seven catches for 10 yards. Harris had five touchdowns in Benton’s 39-36 victory at Pine Bluff on Nov. 6 that clinched the 6A-South title for the Panthers.
“We knew what they were doing this time,” said junior defensive end John Tate, who returned a fumble 31 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. “The first time was crazy because they threw some crazy stuff at us.
“We got a chance to know what they were doing, so that made a difference in this ballgame.”
The Zebras drove 73 yards in 10 plays in 3:56 to take a 6-0 lead. Reades’ 15-yard run set up Skelton’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Tyran Simmons in the back of the end zone, but Skelton’s two-point conversion pass was incomplete.
Later in the first quarter, Benton free safety Stone Paul forced a Skelton fumble and Simeon Watson recovered at the Pine Bluff 24. One play later, junior quarterback Cason Maertens found Casey Green for a 24-yard touchdown pass to give Benton a 7-6 lead at the 4:14 mark.
Maertens was intercepted by Pine Bluff safety David Beasley at the Zebras’ 1. The turnover helped set up Pine Bluff ’s next scoring drive, a 10-play, 91-yard drive that resulted in Skelton’s 3-yard touchdown that made it 20-7.
Bolding said Beasley’s interception helped turn the tide.
“It was huge,” Bolding said. “We had lost [Maertens] running around a couple of times. We had him on the move, and Beasley got a pick.”
The Panthers cut the lead to 20-10 on Grant Hinze’s 23yard field goal with 7:54 left in the third quarter.
Skelton rushed 14 yards to the Benton 39 but collapsed to the turf with a stinger and lost feeling momentarily in his left arm. Benton was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, which gave Pine Bluff the ball at the Panthers 24. One play later, Reades scored from 24 yards to give Pine Bluff a 26-10 lead with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
Pine Bluff rolled from that point as Skelton, who returned to the game late in the third quarter, threw touchdown passes to Kyran Simmons (62 yards), Kacy Higgins (2 yards) and Tyran Simmons (30 yards) to make it 44-10.
Tate’s 31-yard fumble return triggered the Arkansas Activities Association’s sportsmanship rule with 5:00 left.
Maertens completed 23 of 41 passes for 224 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
Benton Coach Scott Neathery, whose team had won 11 consecutive games since a 1414 tie to Bryant on Sept. 5, said Pine Bluff simply dominated his team Friday night.
“Hopefully if we get a chance again, we’ll be a little better than what we were tonight,” Neathery said. “That’s for sure.”