Sports

ZEBRAS HOLD AT GOAL LINE

By Josh Tinker/COMMERCIAL SPORTS EDITOR
Friday, November 6, 2009 2:18 AM CST

This time, it was Pine Bluff that made the play at the goal line.

El Dorado’s Clay Murphey (right) reaches for a pass while Pine Bluff’s Daryl Broady defends. Pass interference was called on the play. SPECIAL TO THE COMMERCIAL/MIKE ADAM.

During a season in which the Zebras’ only conference losses came when quarterback Claude Johnson was stopped at the goal line on plays that would have either tied or put the Zebras ahead, Pine Bluff’s defense gave El Dorado a taste of what the Zebras had been experiencing this season.

With the Wildcats needing only a two-point conversion to tie the 6A-South Conference matchup, Pine Bluff’s defense held firm, forcing El Dorado quarterback Taylor Reed to throw incomplete. El Dorado kicked the ensu ing kickoff deep, and Hakeem Stewart’s 4-yard run on fourth-and-3 on the final drive preserved a 28-26 Zebra victory over the No. 1 ranked, and previously undefeated, Wildcats.

“We ended up running a hot route where we had all five guys in the route. They got under us in coverage,” said El Dorado coach Scott Reed, of the final two-point conversion. “We didn’t hit the middle guy, like I hoped. It was probably a bad call on my part.”

Reed then hoped for one final possession for an attempt at a field goal.

“We had three timeouts and (1 minute, 29 seconds),” said Reed, of why he didn’t kick the onside kick following the failed conversion. “I thought the odds for us were better (without kicking onside). We have a real good field-goal kicker. He made one from 51 (yards) last year and two or three over 40 (yards this year). I thought if we onside kicked and they got the ball the game was over.”

That sequence of events ended an otherwise valiant comeback attempt from El Dorado (9-1, 6-1 6A South Conference). Trailing 28-7 with 3:26 remaining in the first half, the Wildcats started to piece things together offensively. They scored on their final possession of the first half, when Taylor Reed connected with Clay Murphy for a 13-yard touchdown strike that ended an eight-play drive and pulled El Dorado within 28-14.

Then, in the fourth quarter, the Reed-Murphy connection again proved difficult for the Zebra’s defense to stop. The pair combined for 90 yards on four catches during the Wildcats final two drives, with the first two accounting for 65 yards and setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by James Ford — after which a failed conversion on a faked PAT kick ensured the Wildcats they had to try for two after their final touchdown — and the last two setting up a 15-yard pass from Reed, who is the coach’s son, to Jacoby McMurrian with 1:29 remaining.

“As poorly as we played in the first half, I thought the way we played in the second half was a good way for us to finish the game,” Scott Reed said. “I think that’s a positive. I wouldn’t have wanted to be around me for the next two weeks if we’ve of played that way for four quarters, but I was pleased with our execution in the second quarter.”

Pine Bluff (6-4, 5-2) coach Bobby Bolding said he would have liked to score another touchdown, but the Zebras offense appeared as it if were ready to run away with things early on.

The Zebras scored touchdowns on their first four possessions, and stretched their lead to 28-7 with 8:26 left in the second quarter. Finally playing on a dry field at Jordan Stadium, Pine Bluff was able to unleash its speed, needing only 15 plays to score its 28 points. Claude Johnson passed for 136 yards during the four scoring drives, finishing the first half with 201 yards through the air. For the game, Johnson had 231 passing yards and added another 111 yards rushing.

Jonathan Frazier had 89 yards receiving, and Kelsey Collins added 56 yards receiving and had an interception.

“It was nice being on a dry field for a change,” Bolding said. “It was still a little bit muddy, but it wasn’t something that was going to make you slip and fall.

“I was really impressed with our offensive line. We were really able to run the football, and probably should have ran more in the first half. (The offensive line) really took it upon themselves.”

After each team’s first possession, it appeared as if the game would be a shootout. Pine Bluff answered a a 27-yard scoring strike from Reed to Jaquario Miles on El Dorado’s first possession when Johnson ran 11 yards for a touchdown on the Zebra’s third play from scrimmage. The drive was set up by Collins, who returned the El Dorado kickoff to the Wildcats’ 26-yard line.

Pine Bluff then took its first lead on its next possession. After Khary Simpson caused a fumble that was recovered by David Smith, Johnson connected with Frazier from 40 yards out to make the score 14-7 in favor of the Zebras.

The duo hooked up again on the next series for a 14 yard strike, and the two-point conversion made it 22-7.

Then, after Pine Bluff recovered another El Dorado fumble, Johnson found Collins from 40 yards out on the fifth play of the ensuing drive to make the score 28-7 in favor of the Zebras.

“Claude is a good player,” Reed said. “And he’s got a lot of weapons to throw to.”

Pine Bluff begins play in the Class 6A state playoffs next Friday as the No. 4 seed from the 6A-South. The Zebras will host the No. 5 seed from the 6A-East, which will be the winner of tonight’s Mountain Home-Searcy game.

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