Southside’s defense steps up in end

FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 35, SPRINGDALE 28

SPRINGDALE — The Fort Smith Southside defense made key plays when it had to Friday night.

The Mavericks’ defense came up with stops on two Springdale fourth-down drives, and Southside scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 35-28 victory at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium in a Class 7A first-round playoff game.

“Our defense has played a lot better the last three or four weeks,” Southside Coach Jeff Williams said. “I thought they played real well tonight and made the plays we needed to make.”

Southside (6-5) limited Springdale to one touchdown in the second half, which came after the Bulldogs (7-4) returned a Mavericks’ fumble to the 10-yard line to set up a short Garrett Vaughan touchdown run.

Springdale moved the ball with ease in the first half. Vaughan, who rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, gained only 33 yards in the second half.

“They really made the run tough on us in the second half,” Springdale Coach Zak Clark said of Southside’s defense. “They made some adjustments. We moved it, but it would be a big down and we just couldn’t do it.”

The game was tied 21-21 at halftime as both teams hit explosive plays. Springdale scored on its first possession when Will Mueller hit Brock Pounders on a 33-yard pass to set up Vaughan’s 8-yard touchdown with 9:14 left in the first quarter.

Southside did not blink, using 20 seconds to tie the score at 7-7 when quarterback Taye Gatewood hit Tyrese Solomon on a 64-yard pass.

After Springdale marched 81 yards in 13 plays to take a 21-14 lead on Vaughan’s second touchdown, Mason Gregory intercepted a Mueller pass in the red zone to stop a Springdale drive. Four plays later, Gatewood hit Solomon on a 55-yard strike to tie the game at 21-21.

“I probably screwed it up there at the end of the first half,” Clark said. “We had it in the red zone, and we probably should have run it out, knowing that we’re going to get the ball to start the second half, or settle for a field goal, and it didn’t happen. That’s a big 7- to 10-point swing.”

Springdale stripped the ball away from Southside’s Ricardo Savoy late in the third quarter, and Tray Tolbert picked up the fumble and returned it 29 yards to the Southside 10. Vaughan, who finished one touchdown shy of tying the school’s all-time rushing touchdown record, scored two plays later to give the Bulldogs their last lead at 28-21.

Southside drove 58 yards in 13 plays to tie the game at 28-28. Gatewood, who was 12-of-18 passing for 186 yards, hit key passes of 21 yards to Colton McBride and 10 yards to Solomon to set up Savoy’s short scoring run. Savoy rushed for 141 yards on 26 carries for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks’ defense did the rest. Landon Chaffey came up with a huge thirddown stop on Vaughan at the Springdale 28, then a 24-yard punt gave Southside the ball near midfield. Gatewood hit Erich Schwarz for 18 yards on third and 6, then dashed through the heart of the Springdale defense on a 20yard touchdown with 3:36 left.

Springdale had one final chance when Mueller hit passes of 14 and 20 yards to move the ball to midfield. But the Southside defense held again as Vaughan was tackled behind the line on third down, and Mueller’s fourth-down pass was incomplete.

FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 35, VAN BUREN 0

FORT SMITH – Fort Smith Northside (7-4) converted three first-half turnovers into touchdowns to cruise past Van Buren (4-7) at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.

The Grizzlies travel to 7A-West champion Bentonville next week for a Class 7A quarterfinal matchup.

Duece Wise rushed for 195 yards and a touchdown and passed for another score as Northside built a 28-0 halftime lead.

Jackson King, who had missed two games with injuries during Northside’s three-game losing streak, was healthy for the first time in a month and scored three touchdowns, including two rushing and a 22-yard pass from Wise in the third quarter

Wise’s 59-yard touchdown run with 10:57 left in the first quarter gave the Grizzlies a 7-0 lead.

King scored on an 18-yard option pitch from Wise for a 14-0 Northside lead with 2:33 left in the first quarter.

Eli Bolton capped a 16-play, 94-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0 Northside with 3:19 left in the first half.