LITTLE ROCK -- Carson Ray rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns in the second half to lead the the Booneville Bearcats to their fourth state title with a 35-0 win over the Osceola Seminoles in the Class 3A final at War Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Booneville (15-0) seemed unphased by the weather, which saw rain and sleet in temperatures in the mid-30s at kickoff. The crowd included 2,813 in attendance.
The Bearcats recovered a fumble by Osceola (13-2) on the fourth play of the game. The first offensive play by Booneville saw Andrew Robertson break free for a 33-yard touchdown with just 1:45 off the clock.
"Anytime, especially a high-charge game like this, you have a turnover early in the game and somebody scores quick, it kind of knocks the air out of you," said Booneville head coach Scott Hyatt. "I've been on both sides of that. That's great momentum, and we continued throughout the game."
The Seminoles continued to struggle on their second series, losing three yards on the drive before Jacob O'Kane's punt into a strong wind was downed just a yard past the line of scrimmage.
"The conditions played a part in it, but we're not going to make excuses," said Osceola second-year head coach Robert Hooks.
"We still had chances and didn't take advantage of them. It's a big learning experience for myself as a coach, and ultimately it falls on me. I take full responsibility. We weren't prepared like we should have been."
Both offenses seemed to struggle through the remainder of the first quarter. Booneville gained just four yards on its next two drives, while Osceola was held to zero yards before finding its rhythm in the final drive of the period.
With 58 yards to go after Jason Ugalde recovered a fumble, the Seminoles managed to drive to the 9-yard line before being stopped on fourth down on the final play of the quarter.
"When you get on a big stage like this and you get opportunites to put points on the board, you have to finish, have to execute," Hooks said. "As far as on the defensive side, I'll bet we missed 15-20 tackles. You have to lock up."
Booneville scored on each of its next two drives, the first a 16-play, 91-yard drive that used nearly seven minutes off the clock. The second was a 10-play, 98-yard drive that put the Bearcats up, 21-0, with 32 seconds remaining in the half.
Osceola managed to work the ball down to the 16-yard line with four seconds remaining after a long kickoff return. Quarterback Kam Turner found J.D. Winda on a screen, but Winda was knocked out of bounds at the five to end the half.
"It hurt," Hooks said of his team failing to convert on the final drive of the half. "Knowing these kids, I thought we would come back. We were ready to come back and win this ballgame. Never did I think that we were going to lose this way. Those are champions over there."
Both of the Bearcats' touchdowns in the second half were thanks to Ray, who was named MVP for his performance.
Hyatt said he did not anticipate his team shutting down an offense that has scored 621 points this season, saying it was "definitely" his team's best defensive performance "against this caliber offense."
"In no way did I think we would shut them out," he said. "They're very explosive offensively. Coach (Aaron) Kimes had a great game plan, and the kids played hard. We executed well and tackled well, and that's what it takes to win a football game."
One of the biggest surprises for Hyatt was seeing his team complete an undefeated season, especially after losing senior quarterback Brandon Ulmer with a torn ACL on the third drive of the season opener on Aug. 24.
"It's awesome," he said. "Losing Brandon was a big blow to the team. The kids just stepped up and carried Brandon's weight throughout the season. I'm proud of them. It's unreal really."
Hooks, who was a defensive coordinator at Bryant, led the Seminoles to their first state final since 1998, a year after winning the title, 28-27, over McGehee.
"Right now, I'm sad, hurting for my kids who are seniors," Hooks said. "They worked so hard, and we get here and fall short this way. That's the biggest thing. I just hurt for my seniors."
"We had a dang good season, but I also hurt for the community," he continued. "The community was behind us. They were banking on us. I just hurt for the community and the kids. We will go back to the drawing board, and we will get better. I hope we will be back here soon."
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q F
Booneville 7 14 7 7 35
Osceola 0 0 0 0 0
First quarter
B -- Andrew Robertson 33 run (Gavin Kent kick), 10:15
Second quarter
B -- Michael Hesson 2 run (Kent kick), 5:04
B -- Hesson 1 run (Kent kick), 0:32
Third quarter
B -- Carson Ray 4 run (Kent kick), 5:13
Fourth quarter
B -- Ray 21 run (Kent kick), 8:03
B O
First downs 22 11
Rushes-yards 64-391 22-60
Passing yards 0 92
Comp-att. 0-2 12-24
Punts-avg. 0-0 4-20.5
Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-1
Penalties-yards 5-38 5-36
Time of poss 29:10 18:50
Individual statistics
Rushing--Booneville, Carson Ray 25-165, Cam Brasher 6-78, Michael Hesson 14-73, Andrew Robertson 11-66, Ethan Wooldridge 2-9, Jeremy Elliott 1-4, Colton Ritchie 1-1, Evan Schlinker 1-(minus 1), Ty Goff 1-(minus 2), Ethan Dobbs 2-(minus 2). Osceola, Kam Turner 11-29, JD Winda 4-15, Titus Harris 2-8, Jariq Scales 1-7, Jeremiah Tobar 3-5, Greg Hooks 1-(minus 4).
Passing--Booneville, Schlinker 0-2-0-0. Osceola, Turner 12-24-2-92.
Receiving--Osceola, Winda 3-30, Trayveon Moore 3-27, Scales 2-19, Payton Burks 1-9, Stanton Burks 1-8, Hooks 1-2, Tobar 1-(minus 3).
Sports on 12/09/2018