Mena too much for Fountain Lake
FOUNTAIN LAKE — Mena welcomed back playmaker Jackson Daugherty with open arms Friday night. Fountain Lake felt the brunt of his return.
Daugherty, after missing a game because of a previous-week ejection, accounted for 258 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns in a 47-28 conference win on Allen Tillery Field at Beckham Memorial Stadium. The senior scored all four touchdowns in Mena’s decisive 26-point run in the second half.
“That was his best game of the year right there,” Mena coach Tim Harper said. “I’m sure he was really glad to be back here. He messed up, and that’s what games are supposed to teach us. When you make a mistake, there is an opportunity to get back up. And he did that. He showed out tonight, no doubt about it. That was the best game he’s ever played.”
Meanwhile, quarterback Sage Kesterson accounted for 310 yards and four touchdowns, three through the air. They gave Mena ( 7-2, 4-2) the offensive balance, 240 passing and 230 running, needed to score on all but one possession.
“Defensively, our secondary just hasn’t made plays,” Fountain Lake coach Tommy Gilleran said. “Earlier in the year, our secondary was making all sorts of plays and now it hasn’t. And then offensively, we need some people to step up and they haven’t. In any big game, kids just have to play better and play hard all the way through. I just don’t think our intensity has been where it needs to be week in and week out.
“I think we peaked against Nashville ( Oct. 3) and we’ve just been coasting.”
Mena scored after all four defensive stops, three in the second half. After reclaiming the lead on Daugherty’s oneyard run at 5: 17 of the third quarter, Fountain Lake ( 5-3-1, 3-3) gave up the ball on downs after gaining 4 yards from midfield starting position.
Daugherty hauled in a 31yard touchdown pass three plays later, then collected an interception on Fountain Lake’s next offensive play. Mena drove in six plays for a 41-21 lead, Daughtery going over from the one three plays into the fourth quarter.
Mena held Fountain Lake to 97 yards in the second half, back-to-back tackles for losses (Hunter Hogan’s sack included) ending the Cobras’ last drive.
“We shut them down in the second half,” Harper said. “… It was just an awesome opportunity for our kids. To win here in a tough environment is just really big for our football team.”
Daugherty ran 39 yards for a touchdown with 1:16 left, bookending his night after scoring on a 67-yard pass on Mena’s third play from scrimamge. With Fountain Lake facing its largest deficit of the season, J.T. McCoy returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards, setting the final margin.
Daugherty carried 11 times for 132 yards and had four receptions for 126 yards. Kesterson, 4A-7’s leading passer, went 14 of 20 for 240 yards and three touchdowns, rushign 13 times for 70 yards and another score.
Colby Spoon, while not scoring, kept Fountain Lake’s offense energized with a teamhigh 94 yards on 14 carries, ripping off consecutive gains of 17, 11 and 10 yards in the first half.
“He had a good game offensively,” Gilleran said. “He gives his all every night. He’s probably a 150-pound kid, but he just plays hard and we appreciate all the things he does.”
Harper was particularly pleased that despite allowing two 1- yard touchdown runs, the Bearcats held Fountain Lake fullback Parker Ross, the league’s leading rusher, to a season-low 55 yards on 16 carries.
“That kid is a player,” Harper said. “The only problem I have with him is he’s not wearing the red and black ( Mena school colors).”
The win assured Mena of a school-record fifth consecutive postseason berth and, with no worse than a No. 3 seed, homefield advantage in a playoff game for the first time in 20 years. Fountain Lake goes to Ashdown on Friday, the winner getting a No. 5 playoff seed.
“And of course, if we win,” Gilleran said, “we get the courtesy of playing ( undefeated) Dardanelle in the first round.”