Hornets crack under Goblins’ pressure

Big plays made a difference, but a simple plunge decided it.

Senior Kanon Kirkland’s 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter completed the scoring Friday night in Harrison’s 28-24 victory over Maumelle at Hornet Stadium.

Kirkland also scored on a 64-yard run on the second play of the game and carried a lateral 69 yards for another touchdown with 18 seconds left in the first half.

“It was a great game,” Harrison Coach Joel Wells said. “Both teams gave a great effort. I’m really proud of my kids.”

Maumelle’s final drive started at its 14 with 4:13 left in the game.

A 15-yard run by senior running back Jacob Acklin combined with a personal foul for face masking against Harrison set up Maumelle with first and 10 from the Harrison 29 with two minutes left. But consecutive runs by Acklin and Porras gained nothing before Porras scrambled 4 yards to put Maumelle at fourth and 6 from the 25.

Porras had senior D.J. Johnson open on a slant pattern on Maumelle’s last play, but Harrison’s pressure gave Porras time to find him. He instead threw from the grasp of Harrison linemen to senior receiver Gabe Jones, who couldn’t come up with a diving catch in Maumelle’s backfield.

“They sent five or six guys and the pocket just completely collapsed on us,” Maumelle Coach David Farr said. “He couldn’t see to get it out.”

Kirkland rushed for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 carries to lead Harrison.

Porras completed 15 of 21 passes for 251 yards and 4 touchdowns. Johnson caught 4 passes for 146 yards and 3 touchdowns. Acklin rushed for 112 yards on 23 carries. The game featured six lead changes. Maumelle took a 12-7 lead on Porras’ 19-yard touchdown pass to Johnson with 11:16 left in the second quarter. Less than two minutes later, a 4-yard run by junior tailback Joshua Williams gave Harrison 14-12 lead, but one minute after that Johnson scored on a 50-yard pass from Porras to give Maumelle an 18-14 lead.

In the final minute of the second quarter, sophomore quarterback Noah Ditmanson tossed a short pass into the flat for senior receiver Alex Wright, who pitched it back to Kirkland. Kirkland ran untouched to complete the 73-yard touchdown play that gave Harrison a 21-18 lead going into halftime.

Maumelle took its final lead, 24-21, on Porras’ 78-yard touchdown pass to Johnson.