Cobras travel by air, win at Smackover

SMACKOVER — Fountain Lake gained something more precious than a first down on fourth and 16 against Smackover late in the fourth quarter here Friday night.

Stephen Turner’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Parion Johnson with 1:08 left gave the Cobras a 29-28 nonconference victory after trailing 28-14.

Turner connected with Johnson six times for 172 yards and three touchdowns. Andrew Roberson totaled 143 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries, gaining 15 yards on three carries to start the Cobras’ game-winning drive.

Fountain Lake took over at Smackover’s 41 after a free kick, the Cobras pressuring Buckaroo quarterback Bryce Lockhart into a safety that made it 28-23. A holding penalty and a Turner incompletion preceded the play of the game, which followed a timeout by each team.

“We call that play ‘Ranger,’” said Fountain Lake first-year coach J.D. Plumlee. “It was fourth and 16, and my quarterback just threw it up and my playmaker went up and made a play. They had their playmakers out there, and we had ours. We were just fortunate to come down with that one.”

A two-point conversion failed but Fountain Lake, after several near-misses, recovered an onside kick.

Turner completed 11 of 24 passes for 295 yards, hitting Johnson for 77 yards as the Cobras pulled within 28-21 on Dustin Pitts’ third straight extra point. Turner passed 30 yards to Johnson for an early 7-0 lead before Smackover went up 20-7 at halftime.

Roberson scored from the one on a 20-play, 77-yard drive of nearly eight minutes, pulling the Cobras within 20-14. Smackover answered with Lockhart passing 47 yards to Peyton Jones, Damarous White running eight yards for a touchdown and adding the two-point conversion that gave the Buckaroos (1-2) their biggest lead.

Fountain Lake (2-1), winning on the road for the second-straight week, totaled 376 yards. Johnson came off a five-catch game for

120 yards and three touchdowns against Haskell Harmony Grove. “The quarterback does a good job of getting the ball out quick,” Smackover coach Mike Baysinger said in midweek to the El Dorado News-Times. “They line up sound and are in the right places where they need to be.”

After matching their two victories of last season, the Cobras open conference play Friday night at home against Joe T. Robinson

(3-0). The Senators, beating Lakeside 40-21 in Week 1, come off a

65-0 rout of Baptist Prep and have outscored opponents 145-28.