Class 6A State Championship Review: Searcy 28, Benton 27

CLASS 6A CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS

TEAM STATISTICS

BENTON SEARCY First Downs 27 22 Total Offense 73-427 71-453 Rushes - yards 35-166 31-112 Passes - yards 23-38-261 27-40-341 Fumbles Lost 1 1 Interceptions Thrown 2 1 Fourth Down Stopped 1 3 Penalties 7-64 7-50 Punts - Average 1-11.0 1-44.0 Big Plays (10+ yards) 22-325 17-329 Zero or Less Plays 20-(-21) 21-(-24) Sacks By - yards lost 2-(-15) 1-(-12) 3rd Down Conversions(avg to go) 6 of 12 (6.5) 6 of 13 (8.3) 4th Down Conversions(avg to go) 1 of 2 (11.5) 2 of 5 (4.0) Punt, Int, Fum Returns - yards 1-80 2-40 Average Drive Start own 47 own 23 Points Off Turnover 7 7 Possession Time 23:57 24:03

Class 5A State Championship • 2019 • War Memorial Stadium PULASKI A AC CADEMY 63, LITTLE RO OCK CHRISTIAN 21

Attendance 8,986 • Sunny 48 degrees • Kickoff noon • Time 2:57

DECEMBER 7, LITTLE ROCK —

The Pulaski Academy Bruins bookended a record-setting season.

Pulaski Academy scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second half and set single-season records with a 63-21 win over rival Little Rock Christian for the Class 5A championship at War Memorial Stadium.

Pulaski Academy set single-season state records with 790 points and 9,062 offensive yards for the season.

Pulaski Academy scored nine offensive touchdowns and rolled up 766 offensive yards, also a championshipgame record, on 86 offensive plays in the championship game.

The Bruins began the season with an 84-64 win over Class 7A Springdale Har -Ber, setting a single-game record with 1,025 yards.

Behind every record-setting offense, of course, is a record-setting quarterback. Quarterback Braden Bratcher set state single-game records against Har-Ber with 764 yards passing and exactly 1,000 yards of offense with 136 more rushing yards. He threw nine touchdown passes and ran for one.

He kept it up to the end for the Bruins.

In the championship tilt, Bratcher earned Most Valuable Player honors with 513 yards and five touchdowns in the air on 38-of-49 efficiency. He also ran 13 times for 125 yards and a touchdown,

Little Rock Christian managed to stay close for a half but could not overcome four turnovers, which Pulaski Academy turned into 22 points.

“You get turnovers, those are game changers,” Pulaski Academy head State Championship Numbers 9,026

Yards for Pulaski Academy for the season to set a single-season state record on 1,000 offensive plays 790

Points scored for Pulaski Academy for the season to set a single-season state record, averaging 56.4 per game 106

Offensive touchdowns scored by Pulaski Academy for the season with 372 first downs

coach Kevin Kelley said. “On all levels of the game, you win 80 percent of the games if you get the most turnovers. We turned it over more than they did last time. This time, it switched over.”

Little Christian stunned Pulaski Academy, 63-61, in a 5A-Central game in October when Isaiah Hankins connected on a 31-yard field goal with four seconds left.

It ended Pulaski Academy’s 63-game conference winning streak that dated back to 2009 and gave Little Rock Christian a cushy road to the finals with wins over a third seed and two four seeds.

The Warriors’ win made it two in a row over Pulaski Academy after Little Rock Christian also defeated the Bruins, 50-38, in the state championship in 2018 that ended a four-year string of state titles.

Pulaski Academy ended it’s twogame losing streak to its rivals, though, with the record-setting offensive performance and a dominating defensive showing.

“I tried to caution our team on not worrying about beating Christian but playing your best in the state championship,” Kelley said. “Winning the state championship is our only goal. To be able to come and play them in it is a little nicer. If we can play as good as we can play, it’s not about who you play. We played our best game our last game.”

Pulaski Academy held Little Rock Christian, which was undefeated entering the title game, to season-lows of 201 yards and two offensive touchdowns.

Up just, 35-21, at the half, Clay James intercepted a pass for Pulaski Academy on Little Rock Christian’s first play of the second half.

That started a landslide.

Pulaski Academy scored on four of its five second-half possessions and forced the Warriors into three turnovers over the final two quarters and to just 50 yards of offense.

“When you’re playing Pulaski Academy, you have to play perfectly execution start to finish,” Little Rock Christian head coach Eric Cohu said. “We didn’t make enough plays. You cannot lose the turnover battle.”

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Braden Bratcher ■ QB ■ Pulaski Acad

BURLSWORTH AWARD WINNERS Caleb Smith ■ OL ■ Pulaski Acad Ben James ■ OL ■ LR Christian

PULASKI ACADEMY OFFENSE QB Braden Bratcher SR RB Joe Himon SO WR Andrew Cobb SR SR Mason Kolb SR SR Cooper White JR LT Caleb Smith SR LG Dane Warburton SR C Thomas Vaughn SR RG Graham Scheer SR RT Trace Hawkins JR WR Jayden Kelley SR PK Clay James SR LR CHRISTIAN DEFENSE DE Otto Graham SO NM Tommy Wadsworth JR DE Kyzer Johnston SR OLB Williams Allen SR ILB Jackson Woodard SR ILB Corey Platt Jr. JR OLB William Parker Kerfoot SR CB Landon Nelson JR CB Luke Lee JR S Isaiah Hankins JR S Alexander Veasey SR P Isaiah Hankins JR LR CHRISTIAN OFFENSE QB Akeem Gilmore SR FB Jackson Woodard SR RB Kendel Givens SR WR Colin Cooper JR SR Corey Platt JR LT Mathew Bennett SR LG Evan Parnell JR C Connor Whipple JR RG Joshua Baker SR RT Ben James SR WR Chris Hightower SR PK Isaiah Hankins JR PULASKI ACADEMY DEFENSE DE Wilson Miller SR NM Matthew Hugg SR DE Richard Griffith SR OLB Brayden Cash SR ILB Clinton Wilson SR ILB Chris Connell SR OLB Futa Shinkawa JR CB Trent Sawyer SR CB Clay James SR S Clinton Wilson SR S Dylan Allison JR P none