Searcy fends off El Dorado 47-35

SEARCY - El Dorado erased a three-touchdown deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter. But Searcy scored twice in the final five minutes Friday and held off the Wildcats 47-35 in 6A East action. The Lions improved to 4-1, 3-1 with El Dorado falling to 2-3, 1-3.

Searcy running back Ricky Love had 30 carries for 222 yards and four touchdowns, including a 12-yard TD run with 2:57 remaining that sealed the victory.

“He's a good player, good-sized kid,” said El Dorado coach Chris Hill. “They execute their offense very well. Except for Catholic, they've scored a lot of points. They're a good football team. It'll be interesting to see how this thing shakes out in the next couple of weeks.”

The Lions piled up 571 yards in total offense with 303 on the ground. Love's 76-yard scamper gave Searcy a 35-14 cushion with 7:52 left in the third.

El Dorado answered with a 14-play drive, converting three fourth downs. On fourth-and goal from the 11, Mitchell Polk connected with AJ Gilmore, who made a juggling catch in the end zone for the touchdown. Cooper Henry added the kick to cut the deficit to 35-21 with 2:11 left in the third.

Two plays later, Jakobe Shipp came up with an interception and a 19-yard return to the 23. On fourth-and-2, Polk ran up the middle, lowered his shoulder into pride of Lions and picked up the first down by inches. On the next play, Thomas Smith scored on a 13-yard run. Henry's kick cut the margin to 35-28 with 10:48 left in the fourth.

The Wildcats forced their first punt of the game, returning the ball back to the offense at their own 27. Polk hit J Prince Roberson on a quick slant. Roberson hauled it 65 yards before being dragged down at the 8-yard line. After a 4-yard loss, Smith scored around left end on a 12-yard run. Henry's PAT tied the game at 35-35 with 8:29 left to play.

The Lions countered with a 12-play, 82-yard drive. Tyler Strickland completed 4-of-5 passes on the drive, including a 35-yard touchdown to Jesse Sumpter. The kick failed and Searcy led 41-35 with 5:11 remaining.

El Dorado started at its own 27. But Polk was dropped for a 3-yard loss on first down. Bretaveon Brown ran for five and Polk hit Jamari Robinson for six to bring up fourthand-2.

But, Smith was dropped for an 8-yard loss on a sweep with 4:11 left in the game.

“We take a sack and then we go for it on fourthand-2 and we bust an assignment up front,” Hill said. “They had a run through that got us in the backfield.”

Love capped Searcy's ensuing 27-yard drive with the 12-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach.

“Our kids didn't quit. They stayed in there and they fought. We had a chance,” said Hill. “We had a couple injuries and some guys got in the game that might not have gotten to play. We got some experience for some guys. I think we learned a lot about our guys. They're not going to quit when things are bad.”

Strickland was 20-of-29 for 268 yards. The Lions converted on 11-of-15 third downs.

“We've got to get off the field,” Hill said. “We've got to know where the chains are at. When a guy passes a certain depth, 8 to 10 yards on a route, he's not going to double move that late in the route. He's trying to get to the first down marker. We've got to do a better job understanding where the first down markers are at and playing the chains, playing the sticks.”

The Wildcats had 369 yards of offense with Polk completing 12-of-20 passes for 216.

Searcy opened the game with an 80-yard drive in nine plays, capped by Love's 1-yard run with 9:22 left in the first. Sara Daniel kicked the PAT.

Robinson returned the kickoff 37 yards to the 47. Three plays later, Polk would score on a 44-yard run. Henry's kick tied the game with 7:47 left in the first.

Eight plays into its ensuing drive, Searcy's Strickland tried a quick screen that was read by sophomore linebacker Jakori Lumsey, who intercepted the pass and returned it 35 yards for the touchdown with 5:21 left in the first.

Penalties included, the Lions came back with a 15-play drive with Strickland hitting Kobe White for a 9-yard touchdown to tie the game.

Not including the kickoff after Lumsey's pick-6, El Dorado's defense was on the field 23 consecutive plays.

“Our kids fought and fought. We used a timeout in the first quarter just to let our defense have a little recovery time. They played hard. The big guys rushing up the middle, felt like it was worth a timeout to let those guys recover a little bit,” said Hill.

“We were winded early. They were on the field 19 out of 20 plays. Playing as hard and as fast as we play, you can't play that many plays in a row. You'll eventually get fatigued but I was proud of how the kids hung in there and fought, offensively and defensively.”

After El Dorado's offense failed to move the chains, Searcy went on a 61-yard drive. Strickland ran for 11, Love for 21 and Strickland for 28 before Love scored on a 1-yard run. Daniel's kick gave the Lions a 21-14 lead with 10:55 left in the half.

El Dorado failed to pick up a first down and Searcy drove to the 13 before the Wildcats held on fourth-and-10. The Lions would score again before the half, however, when Strickland hit Sumpter on a 6-yard TD pass with 2:05 left in the second. Love had a 36-yard run in the 63-yard drive.

Robinson had four receptions for 88 yards before an injury hampered him in the second half. The Wildcats also saw linebacker Zalek Meeks and Gilmore (safety) affected by injuries.

El Dorado will host West Memphis next week. Despite the loss, Hill said the Wildcats have plenty to build on, including their rally in the second half.

“I challenged them at halftime. Let's do a better job of getting after it. Let's do a better job of getting on a block and maintaining it. Let's see what we can do,” he said. “I don't know if that had anything to do with how we played in the second half but the kids played better. I think the kids just challenged themselves. We've got some great young men. I think they just said, ‘we can do better than what we're doing.' I think it showed there in the comeback.

“You're going to have tough times in life. It's going to happen and you've got two choices. You either go to work or you quit. Those are the two choices you have in life and those are the two choices we have on this football team. We can get back to work or quit and I know what these kids are going to do. We'll get back to work Monday and get ready for another ball game.”