Airedales run away after rain

VAN BUREN — Heavy rains that hit Blakemore Field at halftime took away Alma’s passing game, so the Airedales went to their power running game and it paid off big.

The Airedales rushed for 142 yards in the third quarter — nearly half of its 288 rushing yards for the game — and scored three touchdowns to pull away from the Pointers 33-14 Friday night in a 7A/6A-Central game.

Alma led 14-7 at halftime, but after the rains hit the stadium Coach Doug Loughridge’s team scrapped its passing game and ran the ball exclusively out of the Spread formation.

“We challenged them at half, especially our offensive linemen,” Loughridge said. “The running game just took over. We had the downpour so we couldn’t do a whole lot of throwing there.”

The Airedales established their dominance on the opening possession of the third quarter. Alma drove 71 yards in 11 plays, converting two third-and-long plays on keepers by quarterback Noah Dotson.

Heath Friddle finished off the drive with a 13-yard run for a 21-7 lead that re-established Alma’s momentum after Van Buren ended the first half with a touchdown.

After Alma’s defense forced a three-and-out, the Airedales covered 80 yards with eight running plays, capped by Alex Beneux’s 14-yard keeper.

Van Buren was stuffed again by Alma’s defense, and a bad snap on a punt attempt gave the Airedales the ball at the Pointers 15. Three plays later, Dotson scored from the 10 for a 33-7 lead with 29 seconds left in the quarter.

Dotson finished with 140 yards on 13 carries and Beneux, the backup quarterback, added 54 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Airedales allowed just 92 yards in the first three quarters, and the Pointers finished with 215 total yards.

“I was proud of the way the defense hung in there all game long,” Loughridge said. “They bent, bent and bent but never broke. We knew if we made them drive the length of the field, we would be OK.”

CONWAY 44, RUSSELLVILLE 22

CONWAY — Breylin Smith threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns as Conway (5-4, 4-2 7A/6A Central) pulled away from Russellville (3-6, 2-4).

McCall Dail and Shamar Harper also scored touchdowns for Conway.

Christian Underwood kicked a field goal for Conway, while Will Kennedy added an interception for the Wampus Cats.