Mountain Home keeps things simple in victory
CLASS 6A
MOUNTAIN HOME 21, SYLVAN HILLS 14
The game plan was simple: Run a lot, control the clock and play field position football.
It worked for the Mountain Home Bombers in a 21-14 throwback victory over the Sylvan Hills Bears in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs Friday night in Sherwood.
Mountain Home (4-7) travels to Greenwood for the second round next week.
“We tried not to put the ball in the air tonight. Our plan was to take care of the football,’’ Bombers Coach Steve Ary said. “And take care of the clock. We did not want to give them field position and give them a lot of possessions because they are fast.
“It was a little smashmouth tonight.”
The Bombers used a fourth-down touchdown on a 25-yard run by junior quarterback Brady Barnett and held on for a first-round playoff victory for the second straight season. Last season, they defeated Pine Bluff 24-20 in the first round.
“I was glad to win a close one right here,’’ Ary said. “We needed that because we dropped a couple of close ones. I am glad we are in the Elite Eight for the second year in a row.”
With the score tied 7-7 in the second quarter, the Bombers made a goal line stand, stopping the Bears on fourthand-1 with 4:03 left in the half.
“That was huge,” Ary said. “I don’t know how we kept them out, but we did. Those guys bowed up. They did a good job.”
From there, Mountain Home drove 99 yards to take the lead, with the score coming on a 51-yard run by bullish fullback Gage Lindsey, who fought off a defender the final 10 yards for the score. Jack Sheaner kicked the extra point to make it 14-7.
“He’s a strong kid and he took care of the football and he moved the chains,” Ary said of Lindsey. “That run he made where he fought that kid off and stayed inbounds, that was a big-time run.”
The Bombers took the lead with a 65-yard drive after they got a fumble recovery by Tristan Hayes on Sylvan Hills’ first possession of the game. Bennett got the touchdown on a 8-yard run and Sheaner’s extra point made it 7-0.
The Bears answered with a 60-yard drive and Orrin Bosnick scored from the 4.
Lindsay’s TD run made it a 14-7 game at the half.
Dylan Harris’ 5-yard run and Bryan Gonzalez’ extra point with 8:51 left tied the score at 14-14.
The Bombers answered with a 65-yard drive and Bennett scored the winner with 5:39 left.
Sylvan Hills (7-4) had a final drive to the Mountain Home 33. A Hail Mary pass on the final play was knocked away.
“I felt like we would be in the game,’’ Ary said. “I didn’t have a lot of confidence, but I thought we would be in the game. We did. I felt like we would have to play clean, and we did. We did not turn the ball over tonight. And we probably won the special teams tonight. That was kind of the name of the game I think.”