Teams set for 8-Man title game

The 8-Man championship game isn’t until Dec. 1, but the matchup was set Friday night in dramatic fashion.

Rector upset the 8-Man favorite, Mountain Pine, 3028 on the road.

The Cougars (8-2) converted a hook and lateral play on fourth down and 12 late in the fourth quarter to keep their final drive going. Two plays later, Rector scored and completed a 2-point conversion to take the lead.

On the other side of the bracket, 8-Man North champion Izard County (8-2) won on a 26-yard touchdown pass as time expired to win 62-56 over Woodlawn.

Izard County quarterback Wyatt Buchanan was afforded plenty of time by his offensive line, and he used it to find Malachi Cruz leaping over two Woodlawn defenders to make the scoring grab.

This season’s 8-Man championship will guarantee a first-time state champion as both teams are making their first trips to the state final.

That isn’t the only first for Izard County in 2022. Nearly everything the Cougars do is a first as the program is in its first year of existence.

Record setters

Carlisle went from 1-10 in 2021 to 10-1 this season and is gearing up for the Class 2A state semifinals next week is one of the surprises of the season in any class.

At the forefront of that ascension has been running back Jason Sullivan. The senior entered Friday night’s quarterfinal matchup with Earle second in the state in rushing.

To take the Bison to their first semifinal since 2013, Sullivan had his best game yet and set a couple of school records along the way.

Sullivan rushed 27 times for 365 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 49-34 win over Earle. He set Carlisle school records for rushing yards and touchdowns in a single game.

He is up to 2,496 yards and 42 touchdowns in 11 games.

Carlisle will host Mount Ida next Friday with a trip to the state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on the line.

Lamar’s season came to an end Friday in a 41-31 loss to Malvern. But the Warriors went out with a school record. Running back Damien Hendrix broke the school record with his 1,483 rushing yards this season.

Fellow Lamar running backs Jarrett Dalton and Lee Harkreader also broke the 1,000-yard mark in Friday’s game as well.

Newport defeated Quitman 52-22 on Friday night to advance to the Class 3A quarterfinals. Senior wide receiver Kylan Crite put his name in the school record books with his performance.

Crite became the first player in Newport history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season.