Ballard’s late sack helps Harrison win

HARRISON — With a wealth of offensive firepower on the field Friday night, Collin Ballard provided the defensive heroics when Harrison needed them the most.

The senior linebacker raced into Morrilton’s backfield and dropped quarterback Jacolby Criswell for a 15-yard loss, and it helped the Goblins escape with a 39-34 victory over the Devil Dogs in the 5A-West Conference opener for both teams at F.S. Garrison Stadium.

“It was big for us,” Ballard said. “All week long, we knew if we could get pressure on his backside, he would turn upfield with his right shoulder. I kept an eye on his upfield shoulder, and sure enough, he turned it and I got him.

“I just grabbed around his wrist and hung on for dear life. I knew if I could get it, the game was over.”

Morrilton (2-2, 0-1) had to start its final drive on its 1 after a kickoff return mistake and a holding penalty, but Criswell helped the Devil Dogs reach the Harrison 12 in 12 plays. Ballard’s sack, however, turned momentum into Harrison’s favor as Morrilton went from second-and-6 to third-and-21 with under a minute remain- ing.

It also forced the Devil Dogs to throw the ball, and Criswell — the North Carolina commit who was 19-of-27 for 371 yards and three scores — threw two incomplete passes and gave Harrison the ball with 28.6 seconds on the clock.

“That’s just the way it is,” Morrilton coach Cody McNabb said. “That’s football. You’ve got to make plays, and Harrison did on that final drive.

“Both teams were battling, and both were really good teams. We made some mistakes that really cost us. We had chances in the first half to capitalize on some things, and we didn’t do that. Against a good team, that will cost you.”

Harrison (4-0, 1-0) was victorious despite no pass completions, but the Goblins relied on the ground-game combination of Ben Johnson and Gabe Huskey, who provided all the scoring. Huskey finished with 13 carries for 125 yards and four touchdowns, while Johnson added 170 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

While Harrison’s defense had problems containing Criswell, who also ran for 114 yards, the Goblins’ special teams found a way to stop him with a pair of partially blocked kicks by Landon Stephens. The second one almost backfired as Xavier Clemons grabbed the ball and took off, but Harrison’s defense knocked him out of bounds at the Morrilton 49 — a yard short of a first down — with 7:10 remaining.

Johnson bounced back from a yard loss to scamper 44 yards to the Devil Dogs 6 and set up a first-and-goal, then Huskey scored two plays later to give Harrison its 39-34 lead with 5:04 remaining.

“I was really proud of our kids and the heart they showed,” Harrison coach Joel Wells said. “They left everything out there on the field.

“I knew we could run the football against them, but we were hurting ourselves behind the chains. They have a lot of fast guys back there, so we didn’t want to get one picked off. We ran the football and ran it effectively. Ben had a big game running the ball, and I’m really proud of him. Then Gabe is Gabe. You get him in the open field, and he’s hard to catch.”

FOUR DOWNS

• The win gives Harrison a 2715 series advantage over Morrilton, and the Goblins have won the last four meetings.

• Huskey’s four rushing touchdowns now give him 72 for his career, which puts him in the top 10 in that category, according to the Arkansas Activities Association’s record book. He needs five to move ahead of Ozell Collier of Marianna Strong and Lawrence Walker of Carlisle and assume eighth place in that category.

• Morrilton receiver Lamar Wofford had 10 receptions for 152 yards and one touchdown, a 55-yard catch that broke a 2121 tie with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

• Harrison returns to 5A-West action next week with a game at Clarksville, while Morrilton resumes league play with a home game against Greenbrier.