For more photos of this event by Rick Nation, go here; Photos also by Andrew Schroeder
The Bryant White Hornets eighth grade team had some pretty tough sledding on offense Tuesday night. In their season finale, they managed just 70 yards of total offense and 55 of that came on one play, a touchdown pass from RonRico Simmons to Tristan Knox late in the first half.
The defense of the Benton Panthers eighth graders stifled the Hornets and forced three turnovers on the way to a 16-6 victory that completed an undefeated season.
The 9-0 Panthers piled up 247 yards of offense including 98 on the ground from tailback O’Marcus King.
Leading 8-6 at the half, the Panthers drove for a clinching score on the first possession of the second half.
The Hornets finish 4-3.
“We had a good year and continued to get better throughout the season,” said Hornets coach Russell Wortham. “I am proud of how our team improved and played hard up until the final snap.
“We lost to a really good Benton team and just could not capitalize when we needed to,” he added. “We are looking forward to getting in the weight room and getting stronger in the offseason. I hate to see the season end but I know this team has a great future ahead of them.”
The Bryant defense held up pretty well for most of the game, bending but not breaking until late in the first half.
After the Hornets went three-and-out to start the game, Benton drove to the Bryant 29 but, on consecutive plays, White’s Darrell Moore and Myron Thrash stuffed a pair of running plays and the Panthers turned the ball over on downs.
But, on the Hornets’ first play from the 31, a swing pass from Simmons was ruled a lateral. Benton covered the loose ball and had another scoring shot with great field position at the Bryant 25. A face mask penalty against the offense pushed them back and the Panthers were unable to overcome that. A false start penalty on a fourth-and-6 at the Bryant White 21 left Benton needing 11 yards to continue the drive. But Maddox Davis’ pass fell incomplete and the Hornets had the ball back on downs.
A 21-yard run by Daniel Anderson provided White’s initial first down but, on the next play, Benton’s Elias Payne sacked Anderson for a loss of 7. A play later, Payne intercepted an Anderson pass at the Panthers’ 44.
That started the first scoring drive. It took nine plays. King scored from 12 yards out. Davis threw to Julius Stinson for the two-point conversion with 1:12 left in the half.
On the second play of Bryant’s answering series, Simmons threw to Knox for a touchdown. A bad snap on the two-point conversion spoiled the opportunity but, with :24 left in the half, the Hornets with only down 8-6.
Benton made a bid to score right at the end of the half. A 28-yard halfback pass from Payne to Stinson got the Panthers to White’s 23. Benton took a timeout with :02 showing. On the final play of the half, Davis threw to Payne in the end zone only to have Knox jar it loose with big hit.
Benton opened the second half with a five-play drive of 54 yards for a touchdown to pad the lead. All but the last 7 yards came on the running of King and Davis. From the 7, Davis threw to Stinson for the score. Davis ran in a two-point conversion and the final score was on the board with 5:08 left in the third quarter.
The Hornets picked up a first down on their subsequent possession. Thrash converted a fourth-and-1 with a 9-yard burst but the ball came loose when he went down and the Panthers recovered.
A long drive ensued. The key play was a 31-yard pass from Davis to Payne. With a first-and-goal at the 1, the Hornets rose up defensively to turn back the Panthers. Nick Baker knifed through on first down to drop Payne for a 5-yard loss. Then, a third down pass by Davis, was intercepted by Baker, who headed the other way only to be tracked down from behind by Payne at the Benton 40.
With just 4:30 left to play, the Hornets went backwards. A second down pass from Simmons to Baker lost 4 yards then Simmons was sacked at the 35. Facing a fourth-and-15 at their own 35, the Hornets turned it over on downs when Simmons pass fell incomplete with 2:41 left to play.
Benton sapped that, taking a knee at the end, after they’d reached the Bryant White 10.
