Bryant thrives on turnovers

BRYANT 56, LR CENTRAL 0

BRYANT — Bryant’s defense was ruthless Friday night, hunting for and succeeding at procuring turnovers.

Bryant flipped six of them into six touchdowns to ignite a 56-0 shutout of Little Rock Central in Bryant.

“We shot ourselves in the foot way too often,” Central Coach Kent Laster said.

A theme grew legs early. When Bryant secured a turnover from Central, the Hornets soon would score.

“That’s all we can ask for,” Bryant Coach Buck James said.

Bryant junior defensive back Derek Rose was the beneficiary of a deflected pass and intercepted the fourth attempt from Central sophomore quarterback Gunn Lawson early in the first quarter.

The next play? Bryant senior quarterback Ren Hefley fired a 21-yard touchdown strike to senior wideout Josh Robinson.

Later in the second quarter, Central fumbled the snap on a punt attempt. Bryant pursued, recovered the fumble and acquired one of 10 tackles for loss in a first-half beatdown where Central accrued -7 yards rushing.

Bryant senior running back Latavian Scott plunged forward for a 1-yard touchdown dive after the turnover, then sent Bryant’s lead to 21-0 after his 13-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter to put the blowout in motion.

Lawson threw his second interception as the second quarter neared its end. A short TD run from Scott a little later beefed up the landslide.

Central (1-4, 0-3 7A-Central) mustered just 50 yards of offense through the opening two quarters.

The Hornets unloaded their bench on the first offensive possession of the second half. Reserve junior tailback Ahmad Adams punctuated the opening drive with an easy 31-yard run, the Hornets’ fourth rushing TD.

Central’s second half began much like the first.

An attempt to commandeer a successful offensive drive ended with Bryant thundering through Central’s punt team and blocking the kick deep inside Central’s red zone. Senior tailback Braylon Butler pounded in a 12-yard rush one play later for the Hornets.

Central’s next drive ended with a fumble and, shortly thereafter, Butler dashed in for a 15-yard touchdown for Bryant (5-1, 3-0).

Another Central fumble in the fourth sent Bryant’s offense on the field for one play: another touchdown, this one a 61-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Austin Ledbetter to sophomore wideout Hayden Schrader.

Turnovers equaled points all night.

“You’ve got to give that team credit,” Laster said. “Bryant is a very complete team. We are young and we made mistakes. You just can’t turn the ball over that many times and play with a good team. You can’t. There’s no way.”