Grayson’s returns spark NLR over FS Southside
CLASS 7A
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 51, FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 7
North Little Rock Coach Randy Sandefur liked the way his defense performed during the regular season. On Friday, he loved how that unit opened the postseason.
Jonathan Grayson scored two defensive touchdowns in a little less than six minutes apart in the first quarter, paving the way for North Little Rock’s convincing 51-7 victory over Fort Smith Southside in the first round of the Class 7A state playoffs at Charging Wildcats Stadium.
Grayson, a free safety, scored on a 58-yard fumble return and a 41-yard interception return in the that opening period for North Little Rock (9-2), which forced four turnovers in the first half and recorded a safety in the third quarter, to crush any hopes Southside had of staging an upset.
“You know, our defense has been strong all year, but they played lights out [Friday],” Sandefur said. “We were aggressive, maybe a little too aggressive at times, and we needed to reel it in a little bit with some of the things we were doing. But man, they play hard every Friday night.
“They practice hard, too. And that’s the deal. When you practice hard, good things can happen.”
Great things occurred in bunches for North Little Rock in its 44-point rout.
Joshua Thrower, also a safety, ran an interception back for a score late in the second quarter and the defense registered a safety in the third for the Charging Wildcats, who also got a big and short night from quarterback Malach Gober.
The first-year starter completed 11 of 16 passes for 206 yards and 4 touchdowns in just one half of action. Johnny Lewis caught 4 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown for North Little Rock.
Yet, it was the Charging Wildcats’ defense that set the tone in this one.
Southside (2-9) scored 52 points and had more than 440 yards of offense last week in a one-point victory over Springdale to clinch a playoff spot but was held to less than 100 yards from scrimmage. The Mavericks were also forced to play without starting quarterback David Sorg for most of the game. The junior, who’d thrown for 2,832 yards and 26 touchdowns coming in, suffered a huge hit on the Mavericks’ second possession and didn’t return.
Backup George Herrell came on in relief and led the Mavericks on an impressive scoring march on their fourth series of the game. But by the time that happened, Southside was already staring at a double-digit deficit.
It took North Little Rock just three plays to score after receiving the opening kickoff. Gober delivered a 69-yard touchdown strike to Lewis to give the Charging Wildcats a 7-0 lead.
On Southside’s second offensive snap, Grayson grabbed a tipped pass and raced for a score with 9:51 left in the first quarter. He tacked on his second touchdown when he picked up a loose ball Southside and scooted untouched to push North Little Rock’s margin to 21-0.
The Mavericks climbed within 21-7 after Luke Wyatt capped a 7-play, 72-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:11 remaining in the period before a 28-point explosion in the second quarter by North Little Rock put the game far out of reach.
Gober had scoring passes of 54 yards to Felix Wade, 5 yards to Braxton Johnson and 10 yards to Larry Wilbourn on three consecutive possessions to extend the Charging Wildcats’ advantage to 427. Thrower then got in on the act by picking off a pass from Herrell and returning it 51 yards for a touchdown to hand his team a 42-point halftime lead.
“I was really happy with the way we were able to score points, especially on defense, but the thing I wasn’t happy with was our penalties,” said Sandefur, whose team was flagged seven times in the first half. “That’s not us because we’re not a flagrant team. So I challenged them at halftime to reel it back in, and they did.
“Sometimes your emotions get the best of you, but overall, our kids played great.”