NLR passing game shatters Southwest
7A-CENTRAL
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 44, LITTLE ROCK SOUTHWEST 13
Junior wide receiver Malachi Muhammad picked up 196 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on 7 receptions as North Little Rock came away with a dominant 44-13 road victory over Little Rock Southwest in 7A-Central Conference action Friday night.
Junior quarterback Tyson Bradden threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns for the Charging Wildcatsh.
“Excited about the fact that we got to move the ball early,” North Little Rock Coach Clint Reed said. “Physical up front, got our run game going. When our run game gets going it opens up some of those passing lanes. We did a really good job with that tonight. Super excited about Muhammad’s play. He’s a really good football player.”
North Little Rock (2-4, 2-1) got on the board first when senior running back Javonte Harris scored on a 4-yard run with just under six minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Charging Wildcats built a 14-0 lead with 2:05 left in the opening quarter when Bradden connected with Muhammad for a 10-yard touchdown.
Just 20 seconds later, Southwest (1-5, 0-3) cut the deficit to 14-6 on a 70-yard strike from quarterback Chase Forte to wide receiver Logan White. White caught the ball over the middle and then split the safeties on his run after the catch to reach the end zone. It was, however, the only big highlight of the night for the Gryphons.
“They got some really good offensive football players over there,” Reed said. “Just trying to stay back and keep everything in front. No big plays. I thought we did that really good tonight. Let them catch the ball in front of us and the first man get him down.”
On the next possession following the Southwest score, the Charging Wildcats worked their way all the way down to the Gryphons’ 1. But a fumbled snap by Bradden that was recovered in the end zone by Southwest for a touchback kept North Little Rock from adding to its lead.
The Gryphons were unable to take advantage of the turnover and were forced to punt. The next time North Little Rock touched the ball, Muhammad scored again on an 82-yard touchdown pass that saw the speedy receiver take a short slant pass from Bradden, break a tackle and outrun the rest of the defense for the score. That gave the Charging Wildcats a 21-6 advantage early in the second quarter.
North Little Rock continued to build upon its lead before halftime as Jace White took a carry down the right sideline for a 54-yard touchdown to give the Charging Wildcats a commanding 28-6 advantage with 5:05 remaining in the opening half. Along with the rushing touchdown, White also recorded five receptions for 81 yards and another score.
Dropped passes and penalties hampered the Gryphons’ offensive drives throughout the game. A 34-yard field goal from Charging Wildcats kicker Jack Copley as time expired in the second quarter extended the lead to 31-6.
North Little Rock kept its foot on the gas as the second half commenced. On the first drive of the half, Muhammad scored his third touchdown on a 12-yard scoring pass from Bradden to push the lead to 38-6 with 9:17 left in the third.
Southwest had its first drive of the half stall out due to a costly holding penalty. North Little Rock took full advantage by going on a long, time-consuming drive that resulted in a 9-yard touchdown pass from Bradden to White to put the Charging Wildcats up 44-6.
The Gryphons added a late touchdown on a 2-yard touchdown run from Forte on a quarterback sneak. The triumph gave North Little Rock its second win of the season and Reed said he believes the team can build off the success they found.
“I tell our team all the time, we just got to stack them [wins] up,” he said. “We gotta keep having one good day after another. We gotta ride this momentum and see what we can do with it. Just stay positive all the time and stay physical up front. You better be physical up front to play in this league and if we can do that, we got a chance to run a few off, so we’re excited about it.”