By Rob Patrick
Photos by Kevin Nagle
The Bryant Blue Hornets eighth grade team of Bethel Middle School recorded its third shutout and forced four turnovers as it concluded the 2010 campaign with a 14-0 win over the Ridge Road Rams of North Little Rock on Thursday night at Bryant Stadium.
The Hornets finished 7-1 on the season, their lone loss to crosstown rival Bryant White on Oct. 18.[more]
Brushawn Hunter rushed for two touchdowns and Brandon Warner completed 7 of his 8 pass attempts to highlight the Hornets’ offensive effort.
The Rams didn’t run an offensive play until a little over a minute into the second quarter. Bryant Blue opened the game with a touchdown drive that covered 56 yards in 10 plays after Trey Breeding returned the opening kickoff to the 44.
The Hornets grinded out a pair of first downs behind the running of Hunter and fullback Tanner Neal. Warner completed his first pass of 6 yards to Breeding to the team to the 18. A pass interference penalty got them inside the 10. From there, it took four plays including a nice 6-yard run by Hunter to put the points on the board with just 1:25 left in the first quarter.
And, on the ensuing onside kick, Bryant’s Ryan Hall recovered. The Hornets moved to the 30 but a penalty undermined their effort and, on a fourth-and-12 at the 32, Warner was sacked by Ridge Road’s Ladarius Singleton and Marquez Hines.
The Rams picked up a couple of first downs behind the running of Kameron Harris. On a second-and-6 at the Bryant 35, fullback Shevay Williams was stopped cold by Drew Allen and Ryan Hall. And, on third down, quarterback Dominique Barnes was dropped for a loss by Allen. On a fourth-down play from the Bryant 40, Barnes had his deep pass intercepted by Breeding at the 18.
The 7-0 lead held until halftime.
Ridge Road got the ball to start the second half, however, and managed to drive from its own 48 to the Bryant 22. On a second-and-2 there, Harris fumbled and Paul Tierney recovered for the Hornets.
That set up Bryant’s second touchdown drive, sparked by a 25-yard pass from Warner to Hunter, who had lined up outside.
Two plays later, the Hornets were pushed back by a holding penalty. But Warner hit Jason Hastings for 9 yards then 8 yards on consecutive plays. On a third-and-3 at the Ridge Road 37, Rich bulled for the first down. A play later, Hunter slashed 28 yards for the game’s second score at the 4:53 mark of the final period.
The Rams made an attempt to get on the board on the subsequent series but, with time running out, Hunter intercepted a Barnes pass at the 32 and returned it all the way back to the Rams’ 28 to seal the shutout.
BRYANT BLUE 14, NLR RIDGE ROAD 0
Score by quarters
Ridge Road 0 0 0 0 — 0
BRYANT BLUE 7 0 0 7 — 14
Scoring summary
First quarter
BRYANT BLUE — Hunter 6 run (Denker kick), 1:25
Fourth quarter
BRYANT BLUE — Hunter 28 run (Denker kick), 4:53
Team stats
Ridge Road Bryant
First downs 5 8
Rushes-yds 26-102 20-78
Passing 0-2-2 7-8-0
Passing yds 0 50
Punts-avg. 0-00.0 1-33.0
Fumbes-lost 5-2 1-0
Penalties-yds 2-19 2-15
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing: BRYANT BLUE, Hunter 13-72, Neal 5-19, Warner 2-(-13); RIDGE ROAD, Harris 12-55, Williams 5-27, R.Jones 6-23, Barners 3-(-3).
Passing (C-A-I-Y): BRYANT BLUE, Warner 7-8-0-50; RIDGE ROAD, Barners 0-2-2-0.
Receiving: BRYANT BLUE, Hastings 3-15, Hunter 2-28, Breeding 2-7.
