Bryant recovers to rout Fort Smith Southside

BRYANT 31, FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 14

FORT SMITH — Once the Bryant offense stopped turning the ball over, the Hornets began to roll.

Bryant scored 28 unanswered points in a 14-minute span to pull away to a 31-14 7A-Central win over Fort Smith Southside at Rowland Stadium on Friday.

The Hornets (6-1, 4-0 7A-Central) gained 531 yards in the game, but it was the defense that kick-started the offense, killing two potential Southside scoring drives with turnovers before the offense finally got on track.

“That is what we do a lot (on offense). We play in spurts,” Bryant coach Buck James said. “Our defense made plays until our offense played well. When our offense plays well, we are pretty good.”

The Mavericks (3-4, 1-3) led 7-0 in the first quarter, and it could have easily been 14-0 or more. Two intercep- tions by defensive back Mason Gregory gave Southside a first-and-goal at the Hornet 6 in one possession and inside the Bryant 40 in another.

“It’s frustrating early on to get the opportunities (to score),” Southside coach Jeff

Williams said. “We’ve been getting turnovers early and we don’t capitalize on them. To beat a good team like Bryant then you are going to have to take advantage of your opportunities.”

Hornet running back Latavious Scott rushed for 209 yards on 26 carries while quarterback Ren Hefley passed for 257 yards and three scores.

Bryant scored 21 unanswered in the second quarter to take control of the game and lead at halftime 21-7.

The Mavericks scored on a 46-yard run by Ricardo Savoy 85 seconds after the opening kickoff.

Southside, though had two other chances in the first quarter to add points but failed to add it its lead.

Gregory’s first interception gave the Mavericks possession at their 33. Southside marched to the Bryant 5, but Andrew Hayes picked off a Taye Gatewood pass in the end zone to end the scoring threat.

Gregory’s second pick gave the Mavericks possession at the Hornet 35. The drive stalled and on the first play of the second quarter, Jake Wright intercepted a Gatewood pass on fourth down at the Hornet 29 to end the threat.

The Bryant offense finally got on track keyed by the running of Scott and the play-action passing of Hefley.

Three straight runs by Scott got the ball inside Maverick territory and then Hefley finished the drive by hitting Jaeger Burks for a 12-yard touchdown with 8:21 left in the second quarter to tie the game.

The Mavericks marched again, moving from its 26 to the Hornet 23. But on fourth down, the Bryant defense stiffened and stopped a fourth-and-3 pass from Gatewood to Savoy for no gain.

Three plays later, Hefley hits Josh Robinson for a 49-yard touchdown pass to give the Hornets its first lead at 13-7 with 3:20 left before halftime.

The Bryant defense forces a three-and-out and the Hornets marched 63 yards in 10 plays, capped by Hefley’s 15-yard pass to Jake Meaders with 13.4 seconds left in the first half. Scott ran in the 2-point conversion and the Hornets led 21-7.