Bears blank Tigers
Sylvan Hills overcame lost fumbles on its first two possessions and got 104 yards from Dylan Harris in a 30-0 victory at Little Rock Central.
SYLVAN HILLS 30, LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 0
Fans at Quigley Stadium didn’t need a functioning scoreboard to know who won Friday’s nonconference matchup between Class 7A Little Rock Central and 6A Sylvan Hills.
They might have been unsure of the exact total, but four Sylvan Hills touchdowns, three extra points and a 26-yard field goal by Nicolas Gonzalez and a shutout by the Bears’ defense added up to a 30-0 victory on Bernie Cox Field.
Central (0-2) has been outscored 71-8 in its first two games under first-year Coach George Shelton, who praised his defense for fighting hard against the Bears’ physical flexbone offense.
“We competed all the way to the end,” Shelton said. “We had some young kids that got some valuable experience. It is a situation, I would say, under construction … That’s the best thing I can say about it. We’re trying to get there. It’s hard right now.”
Shelton said Sylvan Hills didn’t do anything the Tigers weren’t expecting.
“They were everything I thought they were,” Shelton said. “Physical run football team between the tackles. They’ve been installed there for a couple years. They’re a playoff team. So they were everything I expected them to be.”
Sylvan Hills (1-1) rebounded from a 31-21 loss to Maumelle in its opener, leading 21-0 at halftime despite losing three fumbles in the opening 24 minutes.
Sylvan Hills, which lost fumbles on its first two possessions, got on the board on Orrin Bosnick’s 92-yard run with 1:23 to play in the first quarter.
The Bears’ second touchdown came on a 5-year run by wing back Xavier Okafor (3-50 rushing) at the 6:55 mark before halftime.
Sylvan Hills made it 21-0 with 24 seconds left in the first half on Jahuan Smith’s 18-yard run after a pitch from quarterback Gavin Tiner.
Fullback Dylan Harris (10104 rushing, 1 TD) made it 27-0 Sylvan Hills on a 26-yard run with 7:05 to play in the third quarter.
Harris, Bosnick, Okafor, Tiner and Smith accounted for more than 300 rushing yards for the Bears, and Sylvan Hills’ defense stood solid after each of the Bears’ three first-half turnovers, including one fumble that enabled Central to gain a first down at the Sylvan Hills 3 on its second possession.
“We missed some opportunities,” Shelton said.
A back-breaker for Central was an injury suffered by bigplay receiver Bjay Sisk after Sisk made a 44-yard reception midway through the second quarter.
Sisk left the game and never returned.
“He’s a great player, yeah,” Shelton said.
Sylvan Hills Coach Chris Hill said he enjoyed his first opportunity to coach a game at Quigley Stadium, even with a non-functioning scoreboard.
“The atmosphere, and the history here,” Hill said. “I told our kids that before the ball game. … We didn’t play perfect by any stretch. We’re very young, but we’re going to continue to improve and hopefully get better.”
The three first-half fumbles troubled Hill.
“We work on ball security all the time,” he said. “But we’ve got to get that fixed or we’re going to have a hard time winning any ballgames.”
Hill said he expects his junior-laden team to improve.
“We’re going to be happy but not satisfied with this game tonight,” he said.
Shelton said the Tigers have no choice but to keep their heads up, with one more nonconference game — at Bentonville West next Friday — before opening 7A Central play Sept. 24 against North Little Rock.
“Just keep working,” Shelton said. “Keep working.”