Wolves seek another first against Zebras
Coming off its first win of the season, Lake Hamilton goes for a couple more firsts tonight against Pine Bluff.
One appears more achievable that the other.
The 1- 4 Wolves, playing at home, hope to be the first 6A- South team to score against the defending state champions. That will be difficult enough. Handing the Zebras their first loss is another story.
Pine Bluff has outscored its first two conference foes, Texarkana and Little Rock Parkview, 40- 0 and 42- 0. All of the Zebras’ points against Texarkana came in the first half.
Topping Pine Bluff ’ s long list of returnees is three- year starting quarterback Ladarius Skelton, who led a balanced rushing attack against Parkview last week with 95 yards on 10 carries. He ran 25 yards for a touchdown and passed five yards to fellow senior David Beasley for another.
“He’s obviously very good,” Lake Hamilton coach Jerry Clay said. “They have good blockers. They have everything.”
Skelton mostly passed in the Zebras’ weather- shortened 20- 0 win over the Wolves last year in Pine Bluff, completing 11 of 16 for 117 yards and a touchdown before the game was stopped early in the third quarter. Beasley, a major- college prospect, caught Skelton’s 28- yard touchdown pass.
Romar Reades, another highly experienced senior, ran for three TDs last week.
Pine Bluff coach Bobby Bolding has been less than thrilled with his offense.
“We haven’t played well offensively all year,” he said. “We haven’t played well on the offensive line, and the quarterback has been a little too rambunc-
tious, not staying in the pocket and finding receivers.”
The defense has made up the slack. The Zebras have allowed no more than the 17 points North Little Rock managed after trailing 28- 3 in a 24- point loss.
Last week, senior Braylon Jones returned two interceptions for scores. Jones also had two picks against Texarkana.
Pine Bluff held Parkview to 37 offensive yards and five first downs. It recorded a safety and six sacks, including two by senior end Ja’quavis Russell.
“They’ve been disciplined, they’re physical, they stay in their splits,” Bolding said. “They do everything you like to see from your defense.”
Nine defensive starters returned from 2014. End John Tate, who also plays tight end, is the Zebras’ top college recruit. He has offers from Louisville and Ole Miss, along with Arkansas State, Houston and Louisiana Tech.
The Wolves ( 1- 1 in conference) outlasted Texarkana 17- 13 last week, taking a 10- point lead on fullback Eli Jackson’s two short second- half touchdown runs.
“I was definitely glad to get that,” Clay said of getting in the win column, “morale- wise for sure.”
Lake Hamilton stuck almost entirely to the ground. All but one of their 62 plays were runs, junior Johnathan Buss leading with 135 yards of 26 carries.
Controlling possession time will be equally important against Pine Bluff.
“That would be nice,” Clay said. “You need to stay on top of that.”
The Wolves ran 19 times on a 99- yard drive against Texarkana for Jackson’s second one- yard touchdown and a 17- 7 fourth- quarter lead.
“What concerns me about Lake Hamilton is their offense,” Bolding said. “In three of their losses they controlled the ball. If they had held on to the ball they would be 4- 1. I’m concerned about how many formations they run. That gave us problems last year.”
While all of Lake Hamilton’s 270 yards came rushing last week, passing is not out of Clay’s offensive picture.
“We’re planning on being more balanced,” he said. “We just got into a position last week where we had the lead in the fourth quarter and tried to control the ball. We hadn’t planned that, it just kind of worked out that way.”
Quarterback Nash Teague threw 10 times two weeks ago against Sheridan, with four completions for 23 yards.
The win over Texarkana boosted the Wolves’ hopes of making the playoffs, but they face four straight strong opponents — Pine Bluff, El Dorado, Benton and Parkview — before ending the regular season against winless Little Rock Hall.
“We have a chance,” of making the playoffs, Clay said. “We’re not thinking about that right now. We’re taking one game at a time.”
*** Lake Hamilton will be without two- way starter Jarrod Woodall and starting linebacker Dalton Staggs. Woodall missed his second- straight game with a concussion, and Staggs aggravated a knee injury. Junior Gage Montgomery replaces Staggs.
Clay also expects reserve running back Randall Nichols to be sidelined with a groin injury suffered in practice. On special teams last week, Nichols blocked the kick after Texarkana’s late touchdown.