For more photos of this event by Kevin Nagle, go here
By Rob Patrick
Carson Burnett threw for a touchdown and ran for another while the defense of the Bryant Blue Hornets eighth grade team of Bethel Middle School held off a tough Little Rock Henderson Hawks offense for the shutout in a 20-0 victory on Thursday night at Bryant Stadium.
The win improved Bethel to 2-0 on the season. They play a B game on Tuesday at Sheridan then travel to Lake Hamilton on Thursday.
“We had a tough opponent tonight,” said Hornets coach Josh Akers. “Henderson was big, strong and very physical with us. To be honest, I underestimated the strength of Henderson’s program. They gave us a real fight.”
Bryant Blue took a 7-0 lead in the first half on Burnett’s first-quarter TD pass to Jeff Silva. Fabian Torres kicked the extra point.
“Henderson fought back with a very strong offensive attack,” Akers related. “Our defense held strong and we got the ball back but couldn’t make much of a gain. We went into halftime 7-0 Bethel. We knew that wasn’t good enough for these guys.”
The Hornets got the ball to start the second half and drove for another score which Torres capped off with a touchdown run. The extra point kick was off target so it was 13-0.
The defense held forth after that before Burnett’s fourth-quarter touchdown run. Torres kicked it to 20-0.
“I am very proud of how we responded in the second half,” Akers said. “We showed great tenacity and resilience. I believe we are a tough team and that proved true tonight.
“Coach (Colton) Bond and his leadership of our defense really held us together with big stops at the right time,” he added. “Our special teams played a crucial role in our success tonight.
“Thanks to all of our fans too,” the coach concluded. “You guys were great.”
