Miller time

Harding Academy running back Andrew Miller rushed for 196 yards — including 192 in the first half when he scored 5 touchdowns — and finished with 292 all-purpose yards as the Wildcats drubbed Booneville 52-21 in the Class 3A quarterfinals at Searcy.

SEARCY — Booneville had no answer for Harding Academy’s offense.

The Wildcats used big plays to score 42 first-half points en route to blowing out the Bearcats 52-21 in the Class 3A quarterfinals Friday at First Security Stadium.

Harding Academy (11-1) will host Glen Rose, a 34-21 winner over Centerpoint, in next week’s semifinals.

The Wildcats finished with 458 yards on 38 plays. Running back Andrew Miller had 292 all-purpose yards and scored 5 first-half touchdowns, including 196 yards rushing on 11 carries. Quarterback Caden Sipe was 12-of13 passing for 241 yards and a pair of scores.

“We have a really good offensive line, and Miller is a dynamite running back,” Harding Academy Coach Neil Evans said. “We’ve got an unselfish group of football players.”

In the first half, the Wildcats (11-1) ran just 21 plays in 7 possessions, gaining 351 yards, 12 first downs and 6 touchdowns. Harding scored on six of those possessions while losing a fumble inside the Bearcats 30 on the other.

Miller paced the offense in the first half, rushing for 192 yards on 9 carries and 5 touchdowns. Sipe was 7-of-8 passing for 125 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown pass to Ty Dugger.

“They are a good football team. We knew that,” Booneville Coach Doc Crowley said. “My goodness, they are going to be tough for someone to stop. They were better than us tonight, and I believe they will be better than most people.”

Booneville (10-3) led when Randon Ray broke loose on a keeper and raced 73 yards for a touchdown just one minute into the game for a 7-0 lead. Ray finished with 185 yards rushing on 24 carries.

“We knew it would take a while to catch up to the speed of their running game,” Evans said. “We knew they would bust one early. A player the caliber of Ray you will not completely shut out. He is everything he is hyped up to be … and more.”

From that point on, it was all Harding Academy.

Using a fast- paced, no-huddle offense, the Wildcats scored on their initial possession, marching 61 yards in eight plays, capped by Miller’s 3-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 with 8:27 left in the opening quarter.

After forcing a punt, Miller began to show his big-play ability, scoring on a 57-yard run straight up the middle on the first play of the possession to give Harding Academy a 14-7 lead.

Miller went up the middle again untouched for a 41-yard touchdown for a 21-7 lead with 2:08 left in the first quarter. Harding Academy added a fourth touchdown before the end of the quarter when Miller took a direct snap 30 yards for the score and a 28-7 lead.

After the Wildcat defense stopped Booneville on fourth down at its own 27, Miller scored on on a 27-yard run with 5:14 left in the first half for a 35-7 Wildcats’ lead.

“When you pl ay a clock-control team and you can extend the lead, obviously that puts them in panic mode,” Evans said. “Once we got a three-score lead, we were able to loosen things up on defense and play ‘keep it in front’ and more conscious of running the clock.”

The Bearcats did get on the board in the second quarter as Ray capped a nine-play, 37-yard drive with a 1-yard keeper with 1:40 left before halftime to get within 35-14.