Mistakes manifest in Trojan loss
The principals in Friday night’s 5A-South Conference opener at Tommy J. Holt Field at Joe C. Reese Stadium both proved mistake prone, but only one seized on the other’s missteps.
Little Rock McClellan had 17 penalties for 148 yards and two turnovers but showed more opportunism than Hot Springs in a 36-7 win.
“We knew the conditions were tough,” Crimson Lion head coach Maurice Moody said, acknowledging the challenges posed by a lightning delay that pushed the start time back more than an hour and a steady rain that fell through the night. “We knew the ball was going to be slick, and that the field wasn’t going to be great.
“But we still have to play our brand of football, and I don’t think we did that for the majority of the game. We put together a few good drives where we scored, but we left a lot out there.”
There were two opportunities early in the game that McClellan (4-0, 1-0) didn’t let go begging, trading on Trojan miscues to go ahead, 16-0, in the first quarter. Jaylon Williams seized the first chance, intercepting a pass in the Crimson Lion end zone that ended a 10play drive and led to McClellan’s first score.
When the Trojans (0-4, 0-1)
mishandled a snap on a punt deep in their territory, McClellan was on the spot again, recovering the bobble at the Trojan’s 11-yard line and scoring four plays later on one of its three fourth-down conversions.
The Trojans had their opportunities, too, but couldn’t seize them. They recovered a McClellan fumble on the second play of the second half at the Crimson Lion’s 22-yard line but went backwards. Two holding penalties, including one deep in their backfield, pushed them out of McClellan territory and forced them to punt.
The Trojans were going in the wrong direction most of the second half, netting 18 yards on 23 plays. A McClellan penalty gave Hot Springs its initial first down of the second half with 11:50 to play in the fourth quarter, as two of the Trojans’ four second half first downs came courtesy of McClellan infractions.
A 21-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-10 from Aaron Williams to Trent Gordon, and Gordon’s 24yard reception from Isiah Martin proved the only times the Trojans moved the chains in the second half on their own accord. They finished the night 4 of 16 on third down and had 10 plays that went for negative yardage.
First year head coach Darrell Burnett said confidence is at a premium for a team that’s been outscored, 115-14, through four games.
“We’re still trying to get the kids and the coaches also to believe before you step on the field you can win,” he said. “That’s half the battle right there. You can’t go out there with a defeated mindset against a great team like McClellan. I told the kids they’re good and well coached, but that we could win.”
McClellan ripped off seven plays that covered 20 yards or more, chunks Burnett said were aided by the front seven and secondary not fitting their gaps properly. That much was apparent on several runs, including gains of 51 yards and 45 yards by Derrick Lloyd Jr. and Damion Martin Jr., respectively, in the second half. The latter went for a touchdown that set the final margin with 5:07 to play.
Both backs exploited unmanned gaps and an absence of run support in the second and third levels of the defense to combine for 275 yards on the ground.
“I tell these kids all the time the average distance from your brain to your heart is 18 inches,” Burnett said. “That’s what separates a man from a coward in football. We’ve got to get there. We will. It’s frustrating, because the community deserves more. The school district deserves more, and these kids deserve to be successful.”
Hot Springs is scheduled to continue its 5A-South slate Friday at Hope (0-4, 0-1). The Bobcats lost their conference opener, 21-14, in overtime Friday at De Queen (1-3, 1-0).