Farmington takes advantage of rainy weather

FARMINGTON — Maumelle had a hard time holding on to the football throughout a rainy night in Farmington, and the Cardinals were ready to take advantage.

The Hornets turned the ball over four times and Farmington scored following each one, twice needing just a single play, to claim the 42-21 victory.

The loss likely eliminated any hopes for a playoff berth for Maumelle as they join the Cardinals in a tie for sixth in the 5A West.

On the game’s opening drive, Hornets running back Demarian Johnson fumbled on a short carry but Maumelle (3-6, 2-4) recovered only to turn the ball over on its own 11 when the Hornets fumbled the handoff on the next play.

Farmington (4-5, 2-4) gave the ball to Justice Hobbs on three consecutive plays to score the game’s first touchdown. Hobbs led all playerswith 205 rushing yards on 26 carries.

Maumelle’s ensuing drive stalled at midfield when Johnson slipped trying to turn the corner on the wet grass. Farmington was able to turn that into a 32-yard field goal by Jean Stevens and a 9-0 lead.

“This is our kind of weather,” Farmington coach Mike Adams said. “We practice in it. We’re a ground-and-pound team so it fits what we like to do pretty well.”

The Hornets drove inside Farmington’s 5 on their next drive, but a high snap on third-and-1 was recovered by Farmington’s Kelton Price nearly at the 22. The Cardinals didn’t wait long to capitalize. On the next play, Hobbs went 78 yards up the middle for a touchdown.

“It was just a base running play, but Hobbs popped through a big hole and took it in,” Adams said.

Maumelle started at midfield again, but was stopped on fourth down to set up another short field for Farmington. This time the Cardinals scored in 10 plays, eight of which were runs by Hobbs and one a 20yard reception to Hobbs to go up 23-0.

The Hornets were finally able to get into the end zone just before halftime on a 2-yard pass from Cameron Porras to Payton Stevens, but it proved to be too late.

Farmington took the ball to start the second half and scored on a 29-yard run by Hobbs. Maumelle fumbled

again after a successful fake punt, and again the Cardinals made them pay, scoring on their first play, a 36-yard pass from Brice Waggle to Trenton McChristian.

“We wanted to put the game out of reach,” Adams said. “Brice threw a good pass

and Trenton made a good catch.”

Maumelle was able to score two touchdowns late on passes from Porras to Gabe Jones to cut the final deficit in half.

GREENBRIER 49, CLARKSVILLE 28

CLARKSVILLE — Two quick touchdowns

set the tone for Greenbrier (5-4, 4-2 5A-West) in a victory over Clarksville (1-8, 0-6).

Harold Ross passed to Spencer Sutterfield for the game’s first touchdown before Shawn Howard ran for another Greenbrier touchdown as the Panthers never trailed.

The victory gave Greenbrier sole possession of third place in the conference.