Big 2nd half lifts Mustangs
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
By ROB PATRICK
BRYANT TIMES
Earlier in the week, Bryant Hornets head coach Daryl Patton had said that Sylvan Hills had two backs that might be as good as any Bryant will face this season. It was presumed that he was talking about the team his Hornets were to face, the high school Bears and backs Chase Campbell and Chad Brown. But in retrospect, he may have been actually referring to the Junior Bears’ tandem of Hezekiah Smith and Kaming Kareem.
Big, strong and swift, Smith and Kareem proved a tough assignment for the Bryant Junior High Mustangs in the debut of both teams on Thursday, Aug. 31. But, after a couple of big runs in the first half, the Mustangs were more than up to the task. Though they trailed 13-7 at intermission, the Mustangs finished with a 29-13 victory.
Offensively, it was the Bryan and Bryan show for Bryant. Bryan Griffith tossed four touchdown passes, three of them to speedster Todd Bryan as the Mustangs amassed almost 250 yards of offense.
It was the fifth straight year that the Mustangs have opened the season with a victory over the Junior Bears but early, it hardly looked like a sure thing. The Junior Bears scored on the third play of the game, a 74-yard sprint off left tackle by Kareem. And, after the Mustangs had tied it, the Junior Bears re-gained the advantage on a 57-yard jaunt by Smith as the duo combined for 168 yards rushing in the first half.
But Sylvan Hills finished with just 169 yards of total offense in the game.
“I think the first half we were just kind of lackadaisical — a little bit — defensively,” commented Mustangs head coach Scott Neathery who said the coaching staff changed very little at halftime. “Really, (Sylvan Hills) didn’t get any long drives in the first half. It was big plays. You know, that’s mental because we were either over-pursuing or we weren’t pursuing enough on both of those plays.
“Other than that, we really did okay,” he added. “It was just giving up those two big plays and you can’t do that and win football games.
“The second half, we came out and, I thought, showed a lot of heart, faced the adversity and overcame it. I was happy with the second half. I didn’t like the fumbles and all the mental errors — we had a lot of penalties that I’m not real proud about, but overall, I was proud of the effort and I’m proud of the way we came back in the second half.”
Though the Mustangs scored on just one of their first-half possessions, they threatened on one of their other three. In the opening drive, the marched from their own 29 to the Sylvan Hills 15, thanks in large part to a 22-yard pass completion from Griffith to Travis Wood and a 30-yard connection from Griffith to Richie Wood. But on a fourth-and-9 at the 15, Griffith was sacked and fumbled. Sean Richardson recovered for the Junior Bears.
The defense, showing shades of things to come, pushed Sylvan Hills back to the 18 on three plays and forced a punt.
That set up the Mustangs first touchdown drove, covering 36 yards in seven plays. A 12-yard run by Chris Drye converted a third down then, after Griffith was sacked back to the 26, a fourth-down pass to Bryan, who made an splendid catch as he turned 180 degrees on the run, produced the TD.
The Mustangs lost Drye to injury in the first half but got a big lift from Landon Bullock in his stead.
“He did a great job tonight,” Neathery agreed. “I really rank him and Chris there side-by-side.”
Bullock rushed for 43 yards on eight carries in the second half. He also caught a 33-yard touchdown pass that sealed the victory in the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs took the lead on the first drive of the third quarter. Driving from their own 35, the Mustangs got runs of 12 yards from Bryan and 14 from Bullock as they drove to the 28. Their Griffith hit Bryan with a shuttle pass that Bryan turned into a touchdown. But a penalty negated the play and set the Mustangs back to the 32. A play later, however, the duo combined again and this time the touchdown stood.
A bad snap on the extra-point attempt made it look like it was going to stay a tied ballgame but holder Travis Wood hustled around right end and got to the corner in time for a two-point conversion.
The rejuvenated Bryant defense then forced a fumble that linebacker Kyle Sterling picked up outside the 40 and returned to the 33.
Bullock crashed to the 21 and, three plays later, Griffith and Bryan hooked up on a 14-yard touchdown pass.
Bryan kicked the PAT to make it 22-13.
Sylvan Hills appeared to be mustering the beginnings of an answering drive when Smith broke a 13-yard run up the sideline. The Junior Bears reached the Bryant 44 but a third-down run by Smith that would’ve picked up another first, was wiped out by a clipping penalty and the Bears were eventually forced to punt.
That, however, backfired. Punter Dustin Baker fumbled the snap and the Mustangs pounced on him at the Bears’ 30.
Though pushed back by a holding penalty, the Mustangs scored moments later on a screen pass from Griffith to Bullock that featured some outstanding blocking by the Mustangs’ linemen and wide receivers downfield.
Bryan booted the PAT and it was 29-13.
With the Mustangs running in subs, Sylvan Hills used up the final four minutes of the game driving from their own 35 to the Bryant 30 where a bad pitch cost them possession. Jordan Fulmer recovered for Bryant.
The Mustangs travel to Hot Springs on Thursday, Sept. 6.
