Special teams help Hornets outscore previously unbeaten Pointers
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
Photos by Rick Nation
On a night when the Bryant Hornets and the Van Buren Pointers piled up over 900 yards of offense and 75 points including a combined 40 in just the third quarter, let’s talk about something else.
Just for starters.
Bryant head coach Paul Calley has said since the before the season, that special teams may be the Hornets’ biggest asset. And, in Friday’s 7A/6A-Central scoring fest, it was indeed special teams plays that provided a critical factor in the Hornets’ 49-26 win over the previously unbeaten Pointers.[more]
Van Buren had trimmed a 28-13 deficit to 28-26 with 4:34 left in the third quarter. The Hornets countered by flying 65 yards in just three plays to increase the advantage.
“I didn’t want to get in a score-fest with them,” Calley said later. “Because eventually I was afraid we’d make a mistake. So, I gambled with the onside kick. I felt they could score just as fast from the 50 as they could from the 30.”
Jace Denker placed it perfectly and Tanner Tolbert on the outside scooped it up just before it went out of bounds in front of the Hornets’ bench.
“Jace, that guy, he’s such a weapon,” Calley declared. “He put it right where it had to be. I saw the (Van Buren) guy over there. He was lined up a little tighter than he should’ve been and he kept creeping, kept creeping back every time we approached the ball so I thought, ‘We’ve just got to try it.’”
Come to find out, it was the first time the Hornets executed it effectively.
“We did it in practice three times this week and didn’t get it any,” Calley reported. “Tolbert, it bounced off his hands and went out of bounds. But, our kids executed. When we needed it, we made plays and I’m just glad to get out of there with a win.”
The bigger, stronger Hornets’ offensive line, tackles Austin Johnson and Colby Maness, guards Landon Pickett and Jordan Murdock and center Justin Rauch often working with guard Steven Lecamu at tight end or on the wing, kept hammering the Van Buren defense and marched the 46 yards in six plays to produce a two-score lead, 42-26. And the Pointers would be unable to find the end zone again. Bryant tacked on an insurance score midway through the fourth quarter.
All seven Bryant touchdowns came on the ground, three by Karon Dismuke, who rushed for 188 yards on 22 carries, and three more by Stephen Clark, who rushed for 117 yards on just 12 tries. Sophomore quarterback Hayden Lessenberry snuck in the seventh one to go with a solid night passing the ball. He finished 13 of 17 for 193 yards. In all, Bryant amassed a whopping 519 yards on 64 offensive snaps.
But, back to special teams:
In the first half, the Hornets produced their first two-score edge thanks to a pair of punt plays, one of which bordered on the bizarre.
Leading 14-7, the Hornets’ defense had thwarted a Van Buren threat inside the 10 when Jacob Brady recovered a fumbled pitch at the 9. Bryant drove the ball to the Pointers’ 38 where they stalled. Tolbert came on to punt and nailed a kick that Tyler Freshour downed at the Van Buren 1.
The Pointers, who struggled in the ground game but piled up 347 yards passing, nudged their way out to the 8 where, on a third-and-3, safety Holden Chavis made a nice tackle on the edge to stop Kevin Neal for a loss of a yard.
Chavis finished the game with eight tackles, second only to Collin Chapdelaine’s 10.
What followed was a bit odd looking. Van Buren rushed in its punt team and snapped the ball quickly trying to catch the Hornets transitioning from defense to punt return. The Pointers’ plan was to catch Bryant with too many players on the field, a five-yard penalty that would’ve given them a first down. But they were so quick with the snap that the whistle to start the play clock was interpreted by both teams to be a whistle to rule the play dead. Everybody stopped including punter Roberto Rodriguez who stood with the ball near the back of the end zone. He looked at the back judge standing nearby and the official indicated he should kick it.
Fortunately for the Hornets, the few defensive players that were coming out made it to the sidelines in time and return man Dillon Winfrey had set up to receive the kick. And he got a running start on the short punt, fielded it at around the 40 and sprinted to the Van Buren 15.
Van Buren coach Mike Lee protested, trying to make the case that the Hornets had too many players on the field but gained no satisfaction.
When play resumed, Bryant used four plays to find the end zone. It was the first of Dismuke’s touchdowns, from 6 yards out.
Denker added the extra point and the Hornets had their 21-7 halftime lead.
“I was proud of the kids,” Calley stated. “I was telling them right before the half, I said, ‘Guys, last year in the playoffs, we were up 21-7 against (Fort Smith) Southside (at the half). We go out to start the second half and just collapsed.”
The Rebels, on their way to the State championship game, rallied for a 35-24 win that ended Bryant’s 2009 season.
“We did the exact same thing,” the coach added regarding Friday’s game. “We gave up a touchdown, turned the ball over and they put it in the end zone.
“But we marched the ball right back down the field,” he noted. “I thought our two running backs played extremely hard. They’re running tough and they’re taking a lot of punishment. I hope they can continue to take it.”
The Hornets came right out of the chute with a good looking drive from their own 36 to the Pointers’ 15. Clark had runs of 13 and 14 yards and Lessenberry completed a pair of passes to Winfrey for 17 and 8 yards, respectively.
But, on a third-and-1 at the 16, Clark was dropped for a yard loss.
Calley turned to Denker but the kicker undercut the ball and his kick fell short.
Van Buren, behind senior quarterback Tyler Spoon (18 of 28 for 347 yards and two scores), answered with an 80-yard drive to take the lead. The key play of the drive was a 21-yard pass from Spoon to Joseph Snapp to convert a third-and-6 from the Bryant 38.
A play and a penalty later, Spoon connected with 6-3 wideout Drew White for a 33-yard touchdown.
White would finish with nine receptions for 182 yards while Snapp snatched seven passes for another 153. Each caught a TD pass.
“I knew they were very efficient on offense,” Calley commented. “They’re even more efficient than what I thought. They’re better than what I saw on film. That’s not the same old Van Buren team, not even close.”
Regarding the knack White and Snapp had for getting open, Calley added, “I’m not afforded the opportunity to get in on the defensive game plan or what goes on on the defensive side because Coach Griff (Steve Griffith) and Coach (John) Wells and Coach (Brad) Stroud do such a great job and we just don’t have the manpower. So I really don’t know but, according to them, they were just beating us. It wasn’t a scheme problem. They were just better than us. And that concerns me.
“Offensively, except for the first drive, I thought we executed,” mentioned the coach. “I really was upset we didn’t get the ball in the end zone right off the bat. We fell behind but that’s the way it goes.”
Bryant responded with its own 80-yard march beginning with a 49-yard slash, dash and crash by Dismuke. The Hornets reached the 23 but faced a fourth-and-2. Dismuke and the Bryant offensive line took care of that with a 7-yard run. A 12-yard pick-up followed as Dismuke set up Clark’s 4-yard touchdown run that tied it when Denker added the extra point.
And, as it turned out, Van Buren didn’t score the rest of the half. Spurred by a 38-yard completion from Spoon to White, the Pointers’ answering possession reached the 7 (with the help of a pair of Bryant penalties). But, on a first-and-4 at the 7, Spoon started to option right with running back Jacob Jenkins alongside as a pitch man. The Hornets cut off Spoon and his pitch was high and behind Jenkins a little. The ball bounced off his shoulder pads and Brady recovered for the Hornets.
In the wild third quarter, the Pointers drove 73 yards in eight plays. Again, one play provided a lot of that yardage. It was a 40-yard completion from Spoon the Snapp.
Jenkins eventually scored from the 1 but the extra point attempt was wide and the lead was 21-13. That was no small thing, psychologically for the two teams.
Bryant took its turn and didn’t take long. Tolbert returned the kickoff out to the 47. On first down, Lessenberry found Winfrey for a 38-yard completion that would’ve put the points up had Winfrey, who stretched out to haul in the pass, not stumbled to the ground at the 15. Dismuke slashed for the score, however, on the very next play. Denker kicked it to 28-13.
But it was Van Buren’s turn again and the Pointers covered 70 yards in eight plays. The Hornets came close to forcing a three-and-out but the Pointers gambled, going for it on a fourth-and-1 at their own 39. And Spoon couldn’t find an open receiver. But he tucked the ball and ran for enough to keep the drive alive.
He then completed three straight passes. The third one to White reached the 1. Spoon scored from there.
Van Buren tried to make up for the missed extra point with a two-point conversion but Spoon’s pass was incomplete leaving it 28-19.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Hornets appeared to have another short field to work with after Dismuke returned to the Van Buren 40 but an illegal block early in the run left Bryant at its own 16. A play later, the ball was knocked out of Dismuke’s grasp at the Bryant 23 and Van Buren’s Jonathan Quinteros recovered. A play later, Spoon and Snapp combined for the touchdown. A PAT by Jeremy Martin had the Pointers within 28-26.
But, again, it didn’t stay that close for long. Van Buren, trying to avoid kicking it deep to Tolbert or Dismuke booted the ball out of bounds. Bryant took over on its 35. Clark blasted for 15 yards then Lessenberry passed to Caleb Garrett on a bubble screen that broke for 17 yards. From the 33, Clark started left, broke a tackle or two, reversed field, picking up blockers including his quarterback and sprinted 33 yards to cap the three-play drive.
Denker’s PAT made it 35-26 and his onside kick put the Hornets’ offense back on the field.
On a third-and-14 at midfield, Lessenberry faked to Clark, looked right then came back to his left to find Clark wide open down the left side. The running back made a nice catch, broke a tackle and muscled for a first down.
On the next play, Clark rumbled for 21 yards to the 12. A play later, he scored from 8 yards out to make it 42-26.
Denker’s kickoff went for a touchback. Van Buren, from its own 20, was pushed back when the center snapped the ball before Spoon was ready. The quarterback was fortunate to cover the loose pigskin and retain possession at the 3. And they got out of the hole a play later when Spoon hit White for 34 yards.
But, after an incomplete pass, the Hornets got some pressure on the Van Buren passer and Matt Jones sacked him. On third-and-16, Spoon’s pass to Snapp only got 4 yards.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Rodriguez punted. Bryant took over at its own 29 and marched to the clinching touchdown in nine plays. Dismuke started the drive with an impressive 26-yard gallop.
The only pass of the drive was an 8-yard completion from Lessenberry to Garrett. Then the Hornets went back to pounding on the weary Pointers defense. Dismuke finished off the drive from 4 yards out and Denker’s kick set the final score.
Van Buren’s final bid to score reached the Bryant 30. Spoon’s throw toward Snapp in the end zone was intercepted by sophomore Aaron Bell for a touchback. The Hornets, behind running back Jacob Powell, ate up the last 3:44.
Bryant travels to Russellville next Friday in hopes of breaking a two-game losing streak against the Cylcones.
BRYANT 49, VAN BUREN 26
Score by quarters
Van Buren 7 0 19 0 — 26
BRYANT 7 14 21 7 — 49
Scoring summary
First quarter
VAN BUREN — White 33 pass from Spoon (Martin kick), 5:34
BRYANT — Clark 4 run (Denker kick), 3:23
Second quarter
BRYANT — Lessenberry 2 run (Denker kick), 9:43
BRYANT — Dismuke 6 run (Denker kick), 1:21
Third quarter
VAN BUREN — Jenkins 1 run (kick failed), 9:13
BRYANT — Dismuke 15 run (Denker kick), 8:42
VAN BUREN — Spoon 1 run (pass failed), 5:47
VAN BUREN — Snapp 23 pass from Spoon (Martin kick), 4:34
BRYANT — Clark 33 run (Denker kick), 3:38
BRYANT — Clark 8 run (Denker kick), 1:35
Fourth quarter
BRYANT — Dismuke 4 run (Denker kick), 7:33
Team stats
Van Buren BRYANT
First downs 17 27
Rushes-yds 25-39 47-326
Passes 18-28-1 13-17-0
Passing yds 347 193
Punts-avg. 3-38.7 1-40.0
Fumbles-lost 3-2 2-1
Penalties-yds 4-35 7-70
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing: BRYANT, Dismuke 22-188, Clark 12-117, J.Powell 6-16, Pritchett 4-6, Lessenberry 3-(-1); VAN BUREN — Jenkins 14-52, Neal 3-6, Spoon 9-(-19).
Passing (C-A-I-Y): BRYANT, Lessenberry 13-17-0-193; VAN BUREN, Spoon 18-28-1-347.
Receiving: BRYANT, Winfrey 5-105, Garrett 4-37, Nichols 3-34, Clark 1-17; VAN BUREN, White 9-182, Snapp 7-153, Pittman 1-9, Eason 1-3.
