Pulaski Academy tops pesky Magnolia again

Once again, less than a team’s best was not enough against the Pulaski Academy Bruins.

Pulaski Academy advanced to a Class 5A playoff semifinals with a 56-25 victory over the Magnolia Panthers at Hatcher Stadium in Little Rock on Friday night.

“Our kids played extremely hard, and our coaches do a great job of putting them in the best position,” Pulaski Academy Coach Anthony Lucas said. “We’re so pleased to go on to the semifinals.”

Magnolia rushed for 297 yards, but that was more than 200 less than its season average with senior fullback Deraylen Williams, its leading rusher, lost to injury.

It was Magnolia’s third consecutive playoff loss to Pulaski Academy.

“That’s three years in a row that we came over here and didn’t play very well offensively,” Magnolia Coach Mark King said. “We gave them three or four onside kicks. You can’t do that against a great football team. They do a great job of what they do. You have to play almost perfect to beat them.”

The game started well for Magnolia.

On the first play from scrimmage, junior quarterback Jalen Blanchard’s 39yard keeper gave Magnolia a 7-0 lead.

Pulaski Academy (111) responded in less than three minutes with a 10yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Charlie Fiser. A pass intercepted by Magnolia senior defensive back Deraylen Williams on the two-point conversion attempt left Magnolia with a 7-6 lead.

Fiser completed 26 of 31 passes 357 yards and 4 touchdowns. He rushed 8 times for 43 yards and 1 touchdown.

“Charlie’s always done a good job,” Lucas said. “He missed a couple of throws early on, but he came back to make them count when we needed them to count.”

After an onside kick recovery, Fiser’s 13-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Jaylin McKinney gave Pulaski Academy a 14-7 lead.

In the final two minutes of the first quarter, a 25-yard touchdown pass from Fiser to senior receiver Charlie Barker gave Pulaski Academu a 21-7 lead.

Fiser’s 5-yard pass to senior running back Joe Himon put Pulaski Academy’s lead at 28-7 with 4:18 left in the second quarter. Immediately afterward, another successful onside kick led to a 27-yard touchdown pass from Fiser to Barker on 4thand-4 to give Pulaski Academy a 35-7 lead.

Magnolia (6-6) followed with a 44-yard touchdown run by junior Garrion Curry to cut Pulaski Academy’s lead to 35-13 with 1:18 left in the first half.

A 24-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Kenny Jordan gave Pulaski Academy a 42-13 lead with 10:36 left in the third quarter, but Magnolia responded on the second play of its subsequent drive with a 64-touchdown run by senior back Kendrick Carey.

Jordan led Pulaski Academy in rushing with 57 yards on four carries.

Blanchard led Magnolia with 109 rushing yards on 12 carries. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 44 yards.

Five-yard fourth-quarter runs by Curry and senior running back Joe Himon completed the scoring.

“We got to fix a few things, but overall, we played great,” Lucas said. “Magnolia is a great team. They were tough.”