Nashville’s blowout clinches title
MALVERN — Tradition-rich Nashville enters the final week of the regular season in a familiar position — as a conference champion.
Senior quarterback Leonard Snell accounted for 173 yards running and passing and four first-half touchdowns as Nashville clinched a share of the 7-4A title, and a No. 1 playoff seed, with a 56-14 victory over Malvern on Friday night at Claude Mann Stadium.
The Scrappers (9-0, 6-0) have won or shared 10 conference championships since 2000. Nashville can complete its fifth perfect regular season since 2004 with a victory next week at home against Bauxite.
Nashville’s latest brush with perfection is under the direction of Mike Volarvich, 38, who had been offensive coordinator at Great American Conference power Henderson State before leaving the NCAA Division II school in the offseason for one of the state’s premier high school coaching destinations.
“I knew about all the expectations when I took the job,” Volarvich said. “I really wouldn’t want to be at a place that didn’t expect to win. I expect myself to win. If there ever comes a point when I don’t get the job done, then I’m probably not the guy for the job.”
Malvern (6-3, 4-2) saw its hopes for a first conference championship since 1997 evaporate in the first half when Nashville raced to a 4114 halftime lead behind Snell, who ran for two touchdowns and threw two touchdown passes.
The Scrappers applied the Arkansas Activities Association’s sportsmanship rule after sophomore tailback Trent Harris ran 35 yards for a touchdown and Snell followed with a two-point run with 9:21 left in the third quarter.
Snell finished with 11 carries for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns (38 and 20 yards). He completed 4 of 8 passes for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns (34 and 41 yards).
Both of Snell’s touchdowns were to senior wide receiver Trey Hughes, who gave the Scrappers their 41-14 halftime lead by outfighting a defender on a fourth-down pass at the goal line for a 41-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left in the second quarter.
Nashville finished with 494 total yards, including 400 rushing on 44 attempts.
Junior tailback Darius Hopkins rushed 14 times for 109 yards and 1 touchdown (22 yards).
Hopkins recorded his 11th career 100-yard game and surpassed 1,000 rushing yards this season in the third quarter.
Harris ran 10 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receivers Andrew Hawthorne (24 yards) and De’ajeon Armstrong (67 yards) also ran for touchdowns on reverses.
Armstrong’s touchdown run came on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Malvern senior quarterback Trace Collie completed 12 of 21 passes for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns. Collie threw for 186 yards in the first half.
DARDANELLE 49, DOVER 0
DARDANELLE — Dardanelle (9-0, 6-0) scored on five consecutive possessions and pulled away from Dover (7-2, 4-2) early as the Sand Lizards locked up the 4-4A Conference’s top seed for the state playoffs.
Dakota Rowland had 10 carries for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns on runs of 5 and 29 yards.
Chris Kershner found Phillip Ellison on a screen pass that went for a 24-yard
touchdown, and Turner Partin had an interception and a 4-yard touchdown reception.
Dardanelle held Dover to 83 total yards.
WARREN 35, HAMBURG 7
HAMBURG — Hayden Lassiter threw three touchdown passes to help lift Warren (8-1, 6-0) over Hamburg (7-2, 5-1) and into sole possession of first place in the 8-4A Conference.
Two of Lassister’s touchdowns came in a 21-point third quarter in which Lassiter
also scored on a 26-yard run.
Lassiter passed 42 yards to Franklin Gilmore in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Warren Daniels scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead by halftime.
Lassiter’s 26-yard touchdown started the third-quarter scoring. Lassiter then passed 17 yards to Treylon Burks and 50 yards for Gilmore’s second touchdown catch for a 35-0 lead. Hamburg’s touchdown came in the fourth quarter.