Brewer, Wolves run over Trojans

The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown STILL RUNNING: Lake Hamilton junior fullback Dealond Lewis (15) is taken down by Hot Springs' Malik Cooper (64) and Eddie Miles (14) as he makes his way into the end zone Friday night at Tommy J. Holt Field at Joe C. Reese Stadium. Lewis had seven carries for 45 yards and two touchdowns in the Wolves' 42-7 win.
The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown STILL RUNNING: Lake Hamilton junior fullback Dealond Lewis (15) is taken down by Hot Springs' Malik Cooper (64) and Eddie Miles (14) as he makes his way into the end zone Friday night at Tommy J. Holt Field at Joe C. Reese Stadium. Lewis had seven carries for 45 yards and two touchdowns in the Wolves' 42-7 win.

In the second game of his junior campaign, Malik Brewer showed his speed was unhindered by a lack of playing in Week 1 as the junior running back powered to more than a third of Lake Hamilton's total offensive yardage Friday night on Hot Springs' Tommy J. Holt Field at Joe C. Reese Stadium.

While Brewer tallied 149 yards on the night, his total could have been even higher if three of his visits to the end zone were not called back for penalties. The three nullified touchdowns accounted for 170 yards that were called back on holding or personal foul calls.

"We need that out of him," said Lake Hamilton head coach Tommy Gilleran. "We need that from all our kids. We need him to have big nights. Of course, he probably would have had 200 and something yards if you'd take it all up. Hopefully, we'll get those kinds of nights from him.

"The rest of the year, we need 150-, 180-yard nights. We'll continue to work; we've got four really good running backs, and our offensive line is good. Our offensive line is coming along. I'm excited about where we're at right now."

A fourth touchdown, this one by Braden Braughton, was also called back as both teams picked up offsetting fouls to reset the play.

"We're a different team when all of our kids are here," Gilleran said. "You can tell. I know (the Trojans) are not what they've been. I think we're peaking at the right time, right before El Dorado. El Dorado is a really good football team, so we really have to be prepared."

Despite the four touchdowns called back against the Wolves (3-0), Lake Hamilton still rolled to a 42-7 victory over the Trojans (0-3).

"They're a program," Hot Springs head coach Darrell Burnett said. "We've just got a football team. When you've got a football team going against a program, those are the results.

"Those kids, you can tell by the way they interact with each other, we're not there yet. We will be. I can promise that. As long as I'm here, we'll get there. We're not anywhere near where we need to be."

The looming defeat of the Trojans hung heavy over the celebration held at halftime as a commemorative plaque was presented in honor of Joe C. Reese. The plaque will be mounted near the home entrance to the stadium next to the plaque commemorating Tommy J. Holt. Members of coach Reese's family, including his widow, son and two daughters, were in attendance at the halftime presentation.

Brewer first found the end zone on a 76-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, but a personal foul call near the Hot Springs 35 moved the ball back to midfield.

His younger brother, Carlos Brewer, collected the first official touchdown of the night for the Wolves six plays later with 2:58 off the clock in the first quarter. Spencer Hillard's point-after attempt was good to give the Wolves the early 7-0 lead, and they never slowed down, rolling to a 42-0 lead at the break.

Gilleran also praised quarterback Layne Warrick's performance.

"He's real cool and calm in the pocket," he said. "That's what we need out of that position. He's got to continue to develop and continue to do those things, and I feel like his progress is where we want him for a sophomore. If he continues to not lose games but put us in good positions and get us out of bad positions, he's going to be a good quarterback for us."

Dealond Lewis and Malik Brewer picked up two touchdowns each for the Wolves in the half, while both Carlos Brewer collected the remaining score for the Wolves.

"Those kids, when they want to work and do things right, we have a chance to be really good," Gilleran said. "They've got to continue to work and continue to strive seven more games and get us to four more."

With a lead of more than 35 points at the half, the Arkansas Activities Association's mercy rule was in effect, setting the clock in motion following the initial kickoff of the half.

"It was frustrating," Burnett said. "They were bigger; they were stronger. The first thing is everyone always says you've got these athletes, but you don't. They were faster than us. Part of that has to change in the weight room, in the offseason. Part of the time you're dealing with a little bit of classroom behavior things, and it shows on the field.

"You don't carry out your assignment or don't block your guy that extra step, they get off a block and make a play. That's what I'm trying to teach them. Hopefully, they'll learn. ... Right now, we're not working hard enough."

Hot Springs finally got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter as Damian Walker carried the ball in from the 7-yard line to give the Trojans their first touchdown of the season. David Carter's kick was good to put the score at 42-7 with 3:00 left in the frame.

"Coach (Burnett) is trying to build a program here, and it takes some time," Gilleran said. "You come to a program; it takes time to do things, and I think he's trying to do it right. I think the process is right; it's just going to take time.

"I learned that a little bit, too, but I came into a program ... Coach (Jerry) Clay had it pretty good. They had some down years, but coach Clay was a really good football coach. I didn't have to worry about a lot of stuff that needed to be done; it was done. It's getting better and better, and we're excited where we're at."

Despite the outcome, Burnett said quarterback Aaron Williams had a good performance.

"He puts too much pressure on himself," he said. "That's what we told him at halftime. 'You're a great kid. Quit listening to everything you might hear. Relax, play football and have fun with it.' He goes out there, and the weight of the world is on his shoulders instead of just enjoying it.

"He was thrown into the fire last year, and everybody pointed the finger at him. Nobody stood up for him instead of having the kid's back, and that's sticking with him right now. We're trying to work through that, but he's a great kid. Anytime you've got a great kid, you'll go to war with him because at the end of the day, he's going to be a winner somewhere in life -- on the field or off the field."

Lake Hamilton will open its 6A-West conference season Friday night as it hosts El Dorado (1-2) at Wolf Stadium. Hot Springs will open 5A-South play at home on Friday against Little Rock McClellan (3-0).

;1Q;2Q;3Q;4Q;F

Lake Hamilton;13;29;0;0;42

Hot Springs;0;0;7;0;7

First quarter

LH -- Carlos Brewer 11 run (Spencer Hillard kick), 9:02

LH -- Dealond Lewis 7 run (kick fail), 5:16

Second quarter

LH -- Carlos Brewer 8 run (Malik Brewer pass from Layne Warrick), 9:55

LH -- Lewis 8 run (Hillard kick), 5:15

LH -- Malik Brewer 58 run (Hillard kick), 1:35

LH -- Malik Brewer 78 run (Hillard kick), 0:25

Third quarter

HS -- Damian Walker 7 run (David Carter kick), 3:00

;Lake Hamilton;Hot Springs

First Downs;15;11

Rushes-yards;33-325;34-130

Passing yards;74;83

Comp-Att;2-4;4-13

Fumbles-lost;1-0;1-1

Punts;2-72;3-117

Third downs;3-6;4-12

Fourth downs;0-0;2-3

Penalties-yards;6-65;8-70

Individual stats

Rushing -- Lake Hamilton, Malik Brewer 8-149, Braden Braughton 2-78, Dealond Lewis 7-45, Carlos Brewer 3-35

Cam'ron Rains 5-18, Zach Bradley 3-17, Angel Diaz 1-2, Blake Davis 1-1, Michael Lewis 1-1. Hot Springs, Aaron Williams 6-47, Spencer Johnson 14-33, Damian Walker 6-25, Janhina Smith 7-25.

Passing -- Lake Hamilton, Layne Warrick 2-4-0-74. Hot Springs, Williams 4-12-3-92, Santiair Thomas 0-1-0-0.

Receiving -- Lake Hamilton, Blake Davis 1-64, Kadin Kemp 1-10. Hot Springs, Terrance Floyd 1-47, Jordan Baker 1-28, Isaiah Martin 2-17.

Sports on 09/16/2018

Upcoming Events