Lumberjacks give Sand Lizards boot

WARREN 17, DARDANELLE 16

DARDANELLE — Warren made the most of its second chance.

Junior Kevin Cortez kicked a 31-yard field goal with 3:21 to play in the game to lift Warren to a 17-16 victory over Dardanelle in the semifinals of the Class 4A playoffs Friday night at a soggy Keenan Field.

Warren (11-3) will meet Mena (12-2) for the state title Dec. 13 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

The Lumberjacks will make their fifth championship game appearance since 2001 — all under Bo Hembree — and are seeking their third title.

“We just kept fighting and fighting,” Hembree said following his 150th career victory. “We found a way.”

Dardanelle (13-1) was poised to play for its first state championship since the modern playoff began in 1968 but couldn’t hold a 16-7 lead after three quarters, or catch a break in the closing minutes.

The left-footed Cortez, a member of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Super Sophomore team, had missed a 36-yard field-goal attempt but received a second chance after Dardanelle was flagged for running into the kicker.

Cortez boomed the 31-yard attempt approximately 20 yards past the crossbar. It was Warren’ only lead.

Dardanelle lost a fumble at its 36 on the first play from scrimmage after the field goal, essentially ending its season. The Sand Lizards also missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt in the first half and a extra-point attempt following its only second-half touchdown.

The Sand Lizards led 10-7 at halftime.

The gut-wrenching defeat left many Dardanelle players crying and Sand Lizards Coach Josh Price almost at a loss for words.

“Fell a little short,” Price said. “We preach to our guys about special teams all the time, and that was the difference.”

Warren had cut the deficit to 16-14 on senior wide receiver Jayson Marshall’s 4-yard touchdown with 7:52 left to play. Marshall scored after catching senior wide receiver Darveon Brown’s fumble on fourth-and-1 from the Dardanelle 6.

Brown, out of the Wildcat, fumbled just past the line of scrimmage, but it popped into the arms of Marshall, who was blocking initially.

Marshall and Brown, who have both orally committed to Arkansas State, came up big, particularly in the second half.

Brown finished with 3 receptions for 59 yards and 1 touchdown (20 yards from senior quarterback Justin Gorman with 11:13 left in the first half). Marshall had three receptions for 49 yards in the second half.

Dardanelle was led by Kristian Thompson, who rushed 18 times for 125 yards.

Thompson extended a 10-7 halftime lead to 16-7 on a 5-yard run with 3:09 left in the third quarter. But senior Gerardo Hernandez’s extra-point attempt was lined off the crossbar.

Hernandez had given Dardanelle a 10-0 lead on a 26yard field goal with 11:57 remaining in the first half.

T.J. Tucker ran 20 times for 120 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown on Dardanelle’ second play from scrimmage.

Tucker’s fumble at the Dardanelle 36 with 2:49 to play was the game’s only turnover.