Hornets beat Patriots
Maumelle senior Brian Worsham scored the tying touchdown and the go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes as the Hornets took a 35-28 victory over Little Rock Parkview.
5A-CENTRAL MAUMELLE 35, LR PARKVIEW 28
Leave it to one of the most diminutive players on the field to restore order in a Class 5A-Central game filled with big plays, lead changes and yellow flags at Hornet Stadium.
Maumelle senior Brian Worsham, 5-9, 160 pounds, scored the tying touchdown with 4:07 to go in the fourth quarter and the go-ahead touchdown with 1:20 to play, lifting the Hornets (5-0, 2-0) to a 35-28 victory over Parkview (3-2, 1-1).
Worsham (19-206 rushing, 4 TDs; 1-25 receiving) broke a 61-yard run with his team down 28-21, and he scored two plays later on a 2-yard run. Caleb Wallis tied the game with an extra point.
“I thought I was going to score,” Worsham said of his long run. “I saw a lot of green grass, but I got tripped up. I knew when we got it at the 3-yard-line that I was going to get it right back. I knew I was going to score.”
Things continued to go Maumelle’s way after Parkview took over at its 20 after Wallis’ kickoff landed in the end zone.
Trent Bennett ran for 13 yards on first down to put the Patriots on their 33, but they went backward from there.
Bennett was tackled for a 10-yard loss on first down, and a high snap went over the head of quarterback Landon Rogers (11-26 passing, 227 yards, 2 TDs) and Rogers covered the ball at the Parkview 1 to set up a third and 42.
Thomas McCauley (25-181 rushing, 1 TD) picked up 4 yards to the 5, and Parkview punter Giovanny Revuelta kicked it to Jaylen Pettus, who returned it 8 yards to the 26.
A block in the back moved it back to the 36, and after a false start Maumelle began its drive at the 39 with 1:51 to play.
Quarterback Jonathan Reyes (12-21 passing, 174 yards, 1 TD) threw incomplete on first down, and then Worsham got back into the action with a 13-yard run, along with a horse-collar penalty, which gave the Hornets first and 10 at the Parkview 12.
Worsham scored on the next play, running around right end, and Wallis’ extra point made it 28-21 with 1:20 to play.
“One stop, one score, we win the game,” Worsham said. “That’s what I was thinking the whole game.”
Worsham had a more immediate thought after Maumelle got the ball back after Parkview’s punt.
“I knew I had to score right now,” he said. “It’s my moment, I’ve got to score right now.”
Maumelle trailed 12-7 at halftime, then scored twice in the first 5:13 of the third quarter on runs of 9 and 11 yards by Worsham to take a 21-12 lead with 9:47 to play in the third quarter.
But Parkview was far from done.
The Patriots scored the next 16 points — McCauley on a 25-yard run at 8:01, then Revuelta tied the game 21-21 with 7:27 to play on a 23-yard field goal.
Maumelle (16 penalties, 149 yards) went 3-and-out on a possession that included an intentional grounding penalty and loss of down.
Wallis’ punt went to Demetrius Feemster, who fielded it at Maumelle 45 and returned it 30 yards to the 15, setting up 2 runs by McCauley and 2 sneaks by Rogers, and Parkview led 28-21 with 5:37 to play.
Things did not look good for Maumelle at that point.
“Adversity,” Worsham said. “We overcame adversity. That’s what happened.”
Maumelle’s Kirk Horton said the Hornets sent a message with their fourth-quarter comeback.
“That’s the best game I’ve been part of in a long time. Our M.O. at Maumelle has been that we’re front-runners and we quit easy. … We’re starting to prove people wrong.”
Parkview had one last chance after Worsham’s touchdown and moved it to the Maumelle 44, but Rogers’ last four passes were incomplete and the Hornets ran out the clock.
“Our team is becoming a whole lot more tough and able to take adversity,” Horton said.
Part of the adversity was the game’s 26 penalties for 229 yards.
Then, there was Worsham gaining nearly half of his yards in the final six minutes.
“His stature, he looks like he’s 12 years old,” Horton said. “But he’s 99 percent muscle. The kid’s got a heart of gold.”