One down the hard way, a lot more still in front of them.
Cody Montee kicked a 25-yard field goal with 18 seconds left to play and the Gravette Lions remained alive in the Class 4 A state playoffs on a coldwindswept night here Friday, beating the Ashdown Panthers 37-35 in the first round.
Montee, a sophomore who turned heads early this season with a 52-yarder, split the uprights to cap a 10-play, 67-yard driveinsideofthreeminutes. The gigantic drive was engineered by senior quarterbackTeddy Selby.
The Lions (9-2 ) will host Newport this Friday. The Greyhounds rallied late to beat Bald Knob 27-24.
Selby, who rushed 31 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns, injured his right ankle on the first play of the gamewinning drive and afterward was taken by stretcher to a hospital to have it X-rayed. He gained 18 yards going around left end in his final carry.
With him on the bench in pain, McKinzie rushed three times for 26 yards and completed passes of 14 yards to Tyler Anderson and 11 yards to David O’Brien, setting up Montee.
“ That’s my job, ” McKinzie said of picking up the slack for the injured workhorse. “ Every senior that was in the huddle pulled it together. ”
Coach Bill Harrelson, now 3-1 in playoff games in Gravette, said nailbiters are common this time of year. “ It was a great win, ” he said. “ The defense gave up some things early in the second half but they kept coming up with turnovers. We got stops when we had to.
Senior Shine “ We had seniors making plays. Teddy Selby, golly, what can you say. He set the tone in the second half. ” Michael Croasdell recovered both of Ashdown’s two lost fumbles. One came at the Lions’ 1-yard line on the fourth play of the fourth quarter. Ashdown Coach Chris Hill said his young Panthers, who have 20 starters back next year, didn’t do what they needed to do to win. “ That’s been our story all year long, ” he said. “ The kids from Gravette did a great job; clutch kick on the field goal to win. ” Montee missed a PAT kick on the Lions’ first of three touchdowns in a wild third quarter in which the two teams scored 34 points on five scores. Ashdown (3-8 ) passed at will against the Lions with Chris McFadden completing 16 of 22 passes for 290 yards and touchdown passes of 2, 65 and 51 yards. He also ran 13 yards for another one. Selby scored both of his touchdowns in the third quarter, when the Lions went to him 11 straight times to open the second half. He rushed eight straight times in the first drive, bulling in from the 5 for the score. Ashdown went up 21-14 at the half, capitalizing on three big plays. A 68-yard pass lofted by Chris McFadden over the middle to Tyrail Jetton led the Panthers, tying the game at 7. Ashdown’s Chris McKinnis picked off McKinzie, setting up the Panthers ’ second score. A 39-yard reverse by Demetrius Norman led to a 14-7 lead. Mc-Fadden passed from the 2 to Chris Bradley for the points. McFadden passed 30 yards to Bradley from the 50, setting up McFadden’s run up the middle from the 13 and a 21-14 lead. McKinzie capped a 51-yard, six-play drive on the Lions’ first possession, scoring from the 1. Selby gained 42 of the 51 yards on the ground, including a 24-yard burst off tackle to the 1. Quintin Eden zigzagged 24 yards to tie the game at 14 early in the second quarter. Gravette failed to score from the 4 just before half-time. McKinzie was upended at the 2 when the play broke down and time ran out in the half.
The Stats Gravette had 23 first downs to 16 for Ashdown but the Little River County team amassed 423 total yards compared to 383 for the Lions. Gravette had 136 passing yards to 299 for Ashdown but Gravette controlled the ground with 246 to 124 for the Panthers. Both teams fumbled twice, Ashdown losing both of theirs, while Gravette recovered both of their fumbles. Gravette was penalized only one time for 5 yards, Ashdown six times for 31 yards. McKinzie was 11 for 29 with interceptions for 136 yards. On the ground, joining Selby with his 171 yards were McKinzie with 45, Eden and Moorman with 13 each and Croasdell with 5. On the receiving end, Hayden McAfee had 50 yards, Tyler Anderson 35, David O’Brien 27, Selby 10 and Quintin Eden 5. Ashdown had led 21-14 at the half and 35-34 at the end of the third quarter. Both teams were scoreless during the last period until Montee’s toe accounted for the only three points to end the game.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online