Bryant beats North Little Rock to continue its undefeated streak

The Bryant Hornets turned North Little Rock’s Charging Wildcat Stadium into their own playground Friday night.

Bryant, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s No. 1 team overall, totaled 829 yards in a 58-21 rout of No. 2 North Little Rock, which was a rematch of last season’s Class 7A state championship game.

“Offensively, we played as well as we could,” Bryant Coach Buck James said.

Senior quarterback Austin Ledbetter completed 24 of 38 passes for 542 yards with 5 touchdowns and zero interceptions for the Hornets, who led 24-14 at halftime and 37-14 at the end of the third quarter.

“We felt really comfortable,” Ledbetter said. “We had a really good game plan going in. We were really confident.”

James was proud of Ledbetter, who has now thrown 27 touchdown passes to 2 interceptions in 2020.

“I think he’s the best quarterback in the state of Arkansas,” James said. “He’s probably one of the best quarterbacks that’s played in the history of the state. I think his stats and record shows it. I know there would be an argument for it, but I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the state of Arkansas.”

Ledbetter’s favorite target was senior wide receiver Hayden Schrader, who finished with 10 receptions for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns.

It was Bryant’s first victory at North Little Rock since 2004 and James’ first win over the Charging Wildcats in Charging Wildcat Stadium. Bryant has defeated North Little Rock four consecutive times, including the 2018 and 2019 Class 7A state championship games.

North Little Rock Coach J.R. Eldridge credited Bryant for its performance Friday.

“They’ve got a really good football team,” Eldridge said.

“In the second half, I felt like we weren’t able to get things going offensively and defensively. They were able to take advantage of that.”

North Little Rock led 14-9 with 4:39 left in the second quarter when senior wide receiver Chris Jefferson scored on a 29-yard run.

However, the Charging Wildcats’ lead lasted 26 seconds.

Bryant responded quickly as Ledbetter threw an 86-yard touchdown pass to Schrader to give the Hornets a 15-14 lead with 4:13 left in the second quarter.

North Little Rock senior quarterback Kareame Cotton, who was 12-of-22 passing for 246 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, was intercepted in the end zone by senior defensive back Kyle Knox at the 2:50 mark before halftime.

Five plays later, Ledbetter found sophomore wide receiver Jordan Knox for a 49-yard touchdown and the signal-caller’s two-point conversion pass to Schrader made it 24-14 Bryant with 1:32 left in the second quarter.

Leading 24-14 entering the third quarter, Bryant continued to roll as Ledbetter threw two more touchdown passes in the quarter. He had a 6-yard toss to Schrader and a 35-yard dart to sophomore Cory Nichols to extend the Hornets’ lead to 3714 with 1:19 left in the quarter.

Bryant added scoring runs of 3 yards by senior Xavier Foote and 77 yards by classmate Jamarien Bracey to stretch the advantage to 51-14 with 5:56 left to play, invoking the Arkansas Activities Association’s 35-point sportsmanship clock.

Foote had 130 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries for the Hornets. Senior Tanner Anderson also had two rushing touchdowns.

North Little Rock was held to 75 yards on the ground. Jefferson had a team-leading 30 yards, while seniors Aaron Sims and Fredrick O’Donald were held to 9 and 8 yards, respectively.