High school playoffs
Little Rock Christian quarterback Kyron Sanders (above, right) tries to pull away from Pulaski Academy’s Robert Ator during Friday’s Class 5A semifinal game. Pulaski Academy beat Little Rock Christian 42-7 and will get a chance to defend its state title next Friday when it faces Little Rock McClellan at War Memorial Stadium. McClellan defeated Batesville 14-9.
PULASKI ACADEMY 42, LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN 7
Pulaski Academy punched its ticket to its second consecutive Class 5A state championship game with its defense.
The Bruins held Little Rock Christian without an offensive touchdown and rolled to a 42-7 rout of the Warriors in the Class 5A semifinals Friday night at Warrior Field in Little Rock.
With Friday’s victory, this year’s state championship game is an all 5A-Central Conference match-up. Pulaski Academy (13-0) will play Little Rock McClellan in the title game Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The Bruins’ defense showed its mettle Friday night against a Warriors offense that had averaged 49.5 points per game en route to winning 12 consecutive games.
“Everybody knows us for onside kicks and not punting on offense, but our defense has been great every single week,” Pulaski Academy Coach Kevin Kelley said. “We needed them tonight. Those guys stepped up.”
Little Rock Christian (121), which won the 5A-West Conference regular-season title, was limited to 87 yards offensively. Senior running back Damarea Crockett, who has orally committed to Boise State, had 71 yards on 18 carries and quarterback Kyron Sanders threw two interceptions, finishing 8-of-23 passing for 68 yards.
Pulaski Academy defensive coordinator Todd Wood, who is in his 14th season with the Bruins, preached to his team during the week to tackle well.
“We had to put pressure on the quarterback,” Wood said. “I can’t say enough about our d-line and d-backs. Our d-backs gave us time to put pressure on them.”
Junior running back Jaren Watkins was the Bruins’ bell cow Friday night, rushing for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns on 27 carries. He scored on runs of 23 yards and 1 yard. Sophomore quarterback Layne Hatcher completed 21 of 37 passes for 276 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior Zack Kelley led the Bruins’ receivers with 12 catches for 177 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Bruins recovered two onside kicks in the first minute of the game to take a 14-0 lead. Senior Justin Charette’s opening kick was recovered by Chris Laing at the Warriors 46. Two plays later, Hatcher threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Kelley down the left sideline for a 6-0 lead.
The Bruins recovered their second onside kick at the Warriors 38. Senior Tre Bruce threw a 17-yard pass to Kelley, setting up Watkins’ 23yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 11:10 left in the first quarter.
Pulaski Academy extended its lead to 22-0 at the 1:45 mark of the quarter with Hatcher’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Bruce capping a 12-play, 99yard drive.
The deficit was too much to overcome for the Warriors, whose only touchdown came on an 8-yard fumble return by linebacker Graham Cate in the second quarter.
“It was huge when they got the kicks and went and scored,” Little Rock Christian Coach Jeff Weaver said. “It put us in a hole and they were able to pin their ears back and come get us. When you’re not getting anything going offensively, it’s hard to keep it going.
“Tip your hat to them. They did a great job. They’re a great team.”
The Bruins stretched its lead to 28-7 with 5:09 left in the third quarter on Hatcher’s 10-yard run. Watkins’ 1-yard run made it 35-7 with 11:15 left and Pulaski Academy invoked the 35-point sportsmanship rule with 4:32 left on Bruce’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Sam Starkey.