Class 2A State Championship Review: Fordyce 35, Des Arc 32

Class 2A State Championship • 2020 • War Memorial Stadium FORDYCE 35, DE ES ARC 3 32

Attendance 3,572 • Clear 42 degrees • Kickoff 6:40 p.m. • Time 2:38

DECEMBER 12, LITTLE ROCK —

The 2020 season was twice as nice for the Fordyce Redbugs.

The Redbugs won their secondstraight Class 2A championship with a 35-32 win over Des Arc in a battle of unbeatens before 3,572 at War Memorial Stadium.

Fordyce finished 15-0 while Des Arc wound up 13-1.

Ja’Quez Cross and Gary Lewis provided the Redbugs with a lethal 1-2 punch.

Cross, who was voted the game’s Most Valuable Player a day after turning 18, ran 17 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns while Lewis added 11 carries for 108 yards and two scores.

“It’s a great feeling to get out here and do this with my team and for my community,” Cross said. “I give God thanks because without him I wouldn’t be in the position I am now. God blessed us that we were able to play every week.”

Cross had scoring jaunts of 41 yards in the first quarter, 55 yards in the third quarter and 46 yards in the fourth quarter.

His final scoring run with 5:56 left in the game put Fordyce up, 35-20. Cross took the handoff around the right side, had the ball knocked loose at the 28, picked it up at the 16 perfectly in stride and scored.

“What I had to do was wait for it to bounce, and I was good,” Cross said. “I put it up to brace for the hit, and he hit it in the perfect spot. Thank God I got to get back on it and get it into the end zone.”

Lewis ran for touchdowns of 43 yards and 30 yards, both in the second quarter. State Championship Numbers

116

Career touchdowns accounted for by Fordyce QB Jaheim Brown, including 79 passing and 37 rushing 58

Career touchdowns scored by Fordyce all-purpose back Ja’Quez Cross, including three rushing scores in the championship game

Fordyce led throughout the game but also was never comfortable.

Des Arc and it’s ground-it-out Wing-T attack had scoring drives of 5:17, 5:11, 5:23 and 4:01 before scoring with 13 seconds left on a drive of just 2:08.

Weston Gambill recovered an onside kick to clinch the win for Fordyce.

“It’s great to win with these kids and for the town of Fordyce,” Redbugs head coach Tim Rodgers said. “We tackled good at times, but there times we let them slip away. That was one of the worries we had playing Des Arc. Our kids, they have to do their responsibility playing the option every time. We would have the dive covered and the quarterback covered, but wouldn’t have the pitch covered. Then the next time, we wouldn’t have the quarterback covered. That was what worried us more than anything.”

Des Arc had 60 rushes for 293 yards and held a whopping time-of-possession advantage with 32:04.

Des Arc was also was 7 for 7 on fourth-down tries.

Des Arc scored on its final three possessions but failed on two-point conversion tries after the last two scores. Over those three scoring drives, Des Arc had 33 plays for 222 yards.

“I’m so proud of the way they fought in the second half,” Des Arc head coach B.J. Paschal said. “We knew they were so much faster than us at every position. Their backfield is amazing, and those O-linemen they’re huge up front.”

Cross also had 12 solo tackles to lead Fordyce on defense at strong safety.

Cross finished his career with 58 touchdowns, rushing for 1,100 yards and 23 touchdowns during his senior season. He finished his career with 29 rushing scores, 24 receiving, one kickoff return, three interception returns, and a fumble return.

Brown also wrapped up a stellar career with 79 touchdown passes and 37 rushing scores. He threw for 6,461 yards and rushed for 1,442 yards in his career.

All four players in Des Arc’s backfield nearly had 1,000 yards for the season with Trevor Reed finishing with 1,061 yards and 14 touchdowns, Eyan Hollway with 1,036 and 15 scores, Jack Kearby with 975 and 11 touchdowns and Luke Morton with 905 yards and 25 touchdowns.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER JaQuez Cross ■ WR ■ Fordyce

BURLSWORTH AWARD WINNERS Ethan Carpenter ■ OL ■ Fordyce Jarrett Hambrick ■ DL ■ Des Arc

FORDYCE OFFENSE QB Jaheim Brown SR RB Gary Lewis SR WR Ross Smead SR SR Mantreal Neal SR LT Colton Musgrove SR LG Ethan Carpenter SR C Carson Williams JR RG Tristan Thrower SR RT Joshua Harrington SR SR JaQuez Cross SR WR Jyrique Walker SO PK Andy Luna FR DES ARC DEFENSE DE Jacob Roach JR DT Jarrett Hambrick SR DT Dalton Sears JR DE Chance Eldridge JR OLB Luke Morton SR MLB Cooper Childers JR OLB Brady Boudreax FR CB Devonte Holmes JR CB Jacob Dobson SR S Trevion Reed SO S Eyan Holloway SR P Cooper Childers JR DES ARC OFFENSE QB Luke Morton SR FB Brady Boudreaux FR HB Trevion Reed SO HB Eyan Holloway SR WR Jacob Dobson SR LT Chance Eldridge JR LG Cooper Childers JR C Jarrett Hambrick SR RG Jacob Roach JR RT Dalton Sears JR WR Devonte Holmes JR PK Jarrett Hambrick SR FORDYCE DEFENSE DE Jyrique Walker SO DT Gary Lewis SR NM Dakota Wimberly JR DT Tristan Thrower SR DE Romorio Johnson SR OLB Mantreal Neal SR MLB Joshus Harrington SR OLB Colton Musgrove SR CB Ross Smead SR CB Weston Gambill SR S Gary Lewis SR P Ross Smead SR

CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS

TEAM STATISTICS

FORDYCE DES ARC First Downs 14 21 Total Offense 39-362 72-395 Rushes - yards 33-355 60-293 Passes - yards 1-6-7 6-12-102 Fumbles Lost 0 0 Interceptions Thrown 1 1 Fourth Down Stopped 1 0 Penalties 5-38 4-40 Punts - Average 1-42.0 3-26.3 Big Plays (10+ yards) 8-252 17-292 Zero or Less Plays 8-(-16) 19-(36) Sacks By - yards lost 2-14 0-0 3rd Down Conversions(avg to go) 4 of 8 (7.5) 3 of 13 (7.2) 4th Down Conversions(avg to go) 1 of 2 (5.0) 7 of 7 (3.9) Punt, Int, Fum Returns - yards 1-1 2-18 Average Drive Start own 45 own 30 Points Off Turnover 0 0 Possession Time 15:56 32:04