Playoff Highlights

7 A Bryant scored seven touchdowns in the first half and rolled to a 56-14 win over Conway in the semifinals behind Austin Ledbetter’s four touchdown passes with Jamarien Bracey and Tanner Anderson each rushing for two scores. Kareame Cotton scored on a 32-yard run with 17 seconds left to lift North Little Rock to a 49-42 win over Cabot in the other semifinal, which featured all four teams from the 7A-Central. Bryant accounted for 502 yards in a 48-22 win over Springdale Har-Ber in the second round with Ledbetter throwing for 336 yards and five scores, four of which were to Hayden Schrader. North Little Rock had no trouble against Little Rock Catholic with Cotton rushing for 176 yards and two scores in a 34-7 win. Little Rock Central won on an odd ending, 37-35, at Fayetteville when Harry Wikoff booted a 29-yard field goal as time expired after Fayetteville took a knee on fourth down prematurely with two seconds left, which stopped the clock on the change of possession.

6 A Greenwood applied the mercy rule for the third-straight week of the playoffs with a 51-7 win over Marion with quarterback L.D. Richmon throwing for three scores and rushing for three more in the semifinals. Lake Hamilton stopped a two-point try to preserve a 21-20 win in overtime in a game that featured 99 rushing attempts combined by the two runoriented teams and one pass completion in the other semifinal. Greenwood coasted past Mountain Home in the second round, 49-13, with Hunter Houston throwing for four touchdowns and Hunter Wilkinson rushing for 138 yards and three scores. Lake Hamilton won easily, 50-14, over El Dorado in the second round. Greenwood pasted West Memphis, 55-7, in the first round with Colin Daggett and Tatum Sadler each returning interceptions for touchdowns.

5 A Pulaski Academy and Little Rock Christian made it three championship games in a row with impressive semifinal wins. Pulaski Academy won, 52-14, over Wynne while Little Rock Christian went to Harrison and won, 52-28. They both had easily win in the third round with Pulaski Academy beating Magnolia, 53-29, and Little Rock Christian winning at Hot Springs Lakeside, 52-14. Pulaski Academy beat Farmington, 51-21, in the second round with Little Rock Christian winning, 48-19, against Clarksville. In the second-highest scoring playoff game in history, Magnolia scored the final three touchdowns in a 76 -55 win over Greenbrier in the second round with the two teams combining for 1,157 yards and 18 touchdowns.

4 A Shiloh Christian and Rivercrest put up big offensive numbers in the semifinals with Shiloh Christian beating Stuttgart, 56-7, and Rivercrest rolling past Warren, 55-35. Shiloh Christian blocked punts on Stuttgart’s first two possessions with Noah DeJamatt returning the second one for a touchdown. In Hamburg’s 76-47 second-round win over Jonesboro Westside, running back Armodd Taylor ran 23 times for 237 yards and touchdowns of 15, 15, 1, 40, 2, 8 and 26 yards while Brett Rice threw for 212 yards and four scores.

3 A Harding Academy had little trouble in its semifinal 35-7 win over Glen Rose. McGehee advanced to the championship game with a 20-18 win over Hoxie, which played without quarterback Daylon Powell for the entire game and ShunDerrick Powell for three quarters after the two were ejected in a 65-35 win over Paris the week before with Daylon Powell rushing for 290 yards and four scores and ShunDerrick Powell adding 256 yards and three touchdowns. McGehee also needed some heroics in a 44-39 win over Prescott in the third round, scoring two touchdowns in the final 55 seconds as Marcus Rose caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Owens with two seconds left after McGehee recovered an onside kick after Owens’ threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Andreas Jordan. Jessieville outlasted Harrisburg, 60-53, in the second round with Jessieville’s Carson Hair throwing for 169 yards and three touchdown passes to Charlie Davis of 35, 60 and 9 yards while rushing for 180 yards and touchdowns of 51, 10, 4 and 5 yards along with three two-point conversion runs and two successful two-point conversion passes, accounting for 52 points in all.

2 A Fordyce and Des Arc won close games in the semifinals to advance to the championship game. Fordyce beat Gurdon, 27-24, on Jaheim Brown’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Mantrell Neal with 8:16 left in the game to complete a fourthand-9 try. Des Arc halted a run on a two-point conversion try with 1:15 left to beat Junction City, 22-20. In a first round game, Carlisle outscored Mineral Springs, 72-50, with the Bison rushing for 544 yards led by Jason Sullivan with 19 carries for 202 yards and five touchdowns, Collin Jinks with 11 carries for 124 yards and three scores, and Devin Cooney with 109 yards on four carries for a touchdown, and Gage Parker with 94 carries and a tally.

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PRE-SEASON FINAL 1. Bryant (19) 197 1. Bryant (25) 13-0 250 Buck James 2. Bentonville 166 2. North Little Rock 11-2 205 J.R. Eldridge 3. North Little Rock (1) 148 3. Greenwood 14-0 182 Chris Young 4. Fayetteville 101 4. Pulaski Academy 13-0 156 Kevin Kelley 5. Benton 88 5. Bentonville 10-1 125 Jody Grant 6. Greenwood 69 6. Cabot 8-4 109 Scott Reed 7. Pulaski Academy 62 7. Conway 8-4 109 Keith Fimple 8. Springdale Har-Ber 54 8. Lake Hamilton 11-2 93 Tommy Gilleran 9. Bentonville West 48 9. Shiloh Christian 14-1 44 Jeff Conaway 10.Conway 42 10. Harding Academy 12-1 29 Neil Evans