Redbugs prevail
Pair of Redbugs leads victory march
Fordyce got a dominant performance on the ground from senior running backs Ja’Quez Cross and Gary Lewis, and came away with key two-point conversion stops to beat Des Arc 35-32 to win the Class 2A state championship.
One was good, but two seemed better for Fordyce on Saturday night.
The Redbugs got a dominant performance on the ground from senior running backs Ja’Quez Cross and Gary Lewis, and came away with key two-point conversion stops to beat Des Arc 35-32 to win the Class 2A state championship in front of a crowd of 3,572 on a chilly evening at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The victory not only capped a perfect season for Fordyce (15-0), but it also gave the Redbugs back-to-back titles for the first time since 1990-91.
“It’s great to win, especially for these kids and especially for the town of Fordyce,” Redbugs Coach Tim Rodgers said. “With everything that’s going on, I’m very, very happy and glad that all of this is over with. I just thank the Lord that we got to play.
“That was the main thing all year long. I just prayed that we’d get to play every week, and the Lord blessed us that we’d get to finish the season on out.”
Fordyce needed a late play from its special teams to finally close out the Eagles.
Des Arc (13-1) trailed 35-20 with 10:28 left in the fourth quarter but scored twice over a 6:14 span to inch closer. A 5-yard touchdown catch from senior tight end Brayden Pickrell with 13 seconds left pulled the Eagles to within three, but Fordyce’s Weston Gambill recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal it for the Redbugs.
Cross, a Purdue commit, carried 17 times for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns while earning most valuable player honors. The 5-10, 175-pound speedster also had a 50-yard scoring run called back in the second quarter because of a holding penalty. Lewis, a 6-2, 215-pound bruiser, had 108 yards on 11 rushes and scored twice.
Senior running back Eyan Holloway ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns, and senior quarterback Luke Morton, who was playing with a dislocated left elbow, accounted for 149 yards of offense with a touchdown for Des Arc, which dominated time of possession (32:0415:56) and limited Fordyce to just 7 yards passing.
But containing Cross and Lewis proved to be a problem for the Eagles.
“Their backfield is amazing, and those O-linemen, they’re huge up front,” Des Arc Coach B.J. Paschal said. “They were twice our size. They scored 35 points on us, and I don’t think anybody’s scored that much on us all year.
“It was tough. … They’re good. They’re back-to-back state champs for a reason.”
Des Arc did remain within arm’s length of Fordyce, but failed two-point attempts cost the Eagles, who converted on just one of their five tries.
The Redbugs struck first and took a 7-0 lead with 7:11 to go in the opening quarter when Cross busted through the middle of the line on fourth and 2 for a 41-yard touchdown. Des Arc retaliated quickly.
The Eagles ate up 5:17 off the clock to methodically move 67 yards in 9 plays, capping off the march with a 20-yard scoring run from sophomore Trevion Reed. Des Arc’s two-point conversion came up short, leaving them behind 7-6.
Fordyce regained the lead at the 8:23 mark of the second quarter on Lewis’ 43-yard run on a trap play before Des Arc countered with another drive that lasted more than five minutes. The Eagles drove 51 yards in 10 yards and scored when Holloway hit the left pylon in the end zone.
Lewis picked up his second touchdown, a 30-yarder, a little more than a minute later on another inside trap to help send the Redbugs into halftime with a 21-12 lead.
The teams traded touchdowns over the next four possessions, with Cross scoring on runs of 55 and 18 yards while Holloway had a 3-yard score. Sophomore running back Jack Kearby also scored on a 2-yard run for Des Arc during that stretch.
The Redbugs left the Eagles with an opening after turning the ball over on downs midway through the fourth quarter, which led to Pickrell’s late score.
“We tackled good, but there were times we let them slip away,” Rodgers said of trying to slow down the Eagles’ closing charge. “That was one of the worries that we had playing Des Arc. You have to do your responsibility on the option every time. [Morton] is one of the best hard-nosed kids that I’ve ever seen since I’ve been coaching.
“To play the way that he did with that kind of injury, he’s got to be tough.”
But Fordyce got what it needed over the final moments to lock up its fourth state championship.
“I’m going to enjoy this for a week or so,” Rodgers said. “Then I’ll start thinking about what we’re going to do next year. But it’s great to win.”