A competitive first half Friday night at Reese Memorial Stadium degenerated into a 35-13 Arkadelphia rout, the visiting Badgers scoring three third-quarter touchdowns.
A frenetic tempo swept the Badgers to consecutive touchdowns on seven-, 12- and five-play scoring drives totaling 149 yards and using a scant 6:10 of game clock.
The Trojans took the field flat footed in the third quarter, turning the ball over on downs on their first two possessions.
A 29 yard touchdown pass from Anthony Goffigan to Alex Tobar on fourth down was the lone bright spot in an otherwise lackluster second half for Hot Springs, which had lost each of its first two games by one-point margins (27-26 to Lake Hamilton, 22-21 at Mena).
The teams combined for four turnovers, 60 yards of penalties and four dropped passes in a disjointed first half.
Hot Springs lost two fumbles in three plays early in the second quarter, and Clarence Floyd and Devin Byers intercepted passes in the Trojan end zone to squelch consecutive Arkadelphia possessions.
Hot Springs converted four of eight third downs and controlled the ball for more than 14 minutes of the first half, yet trailed 14-6 at the break. Floyd gained 105 yards on 11 first-half carries, running 47 yards for a touchdown against an Arkadelphia defense massed to stop short yardage.
Arkadelphia exploited short fields set up by an errant Trojan long snap and Hot Springs fumble to score on its opening and fourth possessions.
Ty Kosters went over from the one for the first touchdown at 7:20 of the first quarter, and quarterback Jeff Blake kept for 23 yards to put the Badgers with 3:33 to play in the quarter.
Blake added two goal-line sneaks in the decisive third quarter to finish with three touchdowns and 207 yards.
Sports on 09/20/2014