PEARCY -- Lake Hamilton's gold team controlled the field and the scoreboard Friday night in the Maroon and Gold game at Wolf Stadium, taking a 21-7 victory over the maroon team.
"I thought we did alright," said head coach Tommy Gilleran. "When you mix them up, you split up your talent, so I thought overall we did OK. I saw some things that are positive that we can do, and there are things we've got to work on to get ready for the season.
"Tuesday will be kind of a cleanup. We'll play two pretty good teams -- especially Cabot, and I think Hope's going to get better. With those teams, we'll see what we need to do and what we need to fix."
The game consisted of four running-clock quarters of 15, 12, 10 and eight minutes with no halftime break.
Malik Brewer put the gold team on the scoreboard early as he took the handoff from Cayden Napier on the first play from scrimmage and powered down the field for a 70-yard touchdown run. Jordy Morales kicked the point after attempt to make it 7-0.
Brewer scored again in the third quarter on a 17-yard run to finish the night with four carries for 95 yards to lead all rushers.
Both teams added seven points in the second period with the maroon evening the score after Obed Liera recovered a bungled handoff at the 34 yard line. Layne Warrick capped the drive six plays later with an 11-yard run followed by Morales' kick to even the score.
The white team almost turned the ball over on the next play when Bardwell dropped the ball on the exchange from the center, but he landed on the ball. The white took a 14-7 lead seven plays later on a drive that was highlighted by Bardwell's 42-yard pass to Zack Bradley.
Both teams struggled with turnovers late in the opening period with Jonathan Reyes throwing two picks and Napier one.
Cameron Rains had six carries for 20 yards for the gold team, and Bradley three carries for 13 yards along with a 42-yard reception to lead the receiver corps. Blaine Merriott had a reception for 30 yards, and Tanner Kuykendall had one for 26. Bardwell was 2-for-3 passing for 68 yards, and Napier was 1-for-2 with one interception for 30 yards.
"Right now, Cayden Napier is kind of the front runner as a senior and a kid that's been in the program," Gilleran said of the quarterback situation. "He's the guy who's kind of taking it right now, but the other guys have got a chance. He's the one who's kind of stepped up lately that we've seen, and he handles it, and he understands it."
Taimi Nasilai led the white's defense with four tackles, and Andrew Martin and Braden Qualls had three each.
"We're excited," Gilleran said of Nasilai, a junior who transferred from Jessieville. "We didn't know because he hasn't really shown that much, but, man, we need that. That just makes us better when we've got kids like that that can play like that, so we're excited. I think he'll have a chance to help us and make us better."
Dealond Lewis led the maroon team's offense with seven rushes for 51 yards, and Carlos Brewer had four carries for 20 yards. Kanaan Williams had one reception for 17 yards to lead the receiving corps. Warrick was 1-for-4 for 17 yards with one pick, and Reyes was 2-for-6 for seven yards with two interceptions.
"I think Layne Warrick had a good game tonight," Gilleran said. "I think he's real poised. The good thing about him is he can run. He gives us another dimension at quarterback, so we'll see how it goes."
Angel Diaz led the maroon defense with five tackles.
Freshmen
The freshman gold team dominated the field in the second of the three scrimmages, defeating the maroon team, 14-0.
Marion Conrad did much of the heavy lifting for the gold team in the first drive, accounting for 25 of team's 70-yard opening drive, but Justin Chen broke free for a 35-yard run to the 14 yard line, putting the gold two plays away from the end zone. A nine-yard carry by Conrad put the ball on the five, and Tevin Woodley punched the ball in for the 7-0 lead.
The maroon team struggled from the outset, losing four yards on the first two plays before a penalty put the ball at the 35 yard line. Unfortunately, quarterback J.T. England's rush was short on the fourth down play, turning the ball over just inside the 40.
The gold team had a tougher struggle in its second drive, needing 10 plays to convert the 40 yards for a touchdown. Grant Bearden broke free for a 28-yard gain to the 10 yard line that set up Conrad's touchdown run.
England connected with Jayden Stiles for a 50-yard gain in the maroon's final drive, but the drive ended up short as time ran out.
Conrad led the gold with seven carries for 41 yards, Chen had one for 35, Bearden one for 28 and Woodley six for 27. Bearden was 0-for-2 passing. Bearden led the team defensively with two tackles.
England was 1-for-2 passing for 50 yards, and Stiles had the reception. England led the team in rushing with two rushes for eight yards, Arber Maksuti had one for six yards and Noah Tiernan had two for four yards. Tiernan and Zachary Gonzales led the team with three tackles each, and Ivan Garcia, Elija Rodgers and Casey Neal added two each.
8th grade
Lake Hamilton's maroon and gold teams finished tied at 7-7 at the end of 20 minutes of running clock in the annual Maroon and Gold scrimmage at Wolf Stadium.
The gold team got on the scoreboard first, taking over at the 50-yard line after the maroon squad was unable to convert on its second set of downs. Tristan Rader handed off the ball to Kendrick Martin, who broke free of three defenders on his way to taking it to the end zone.
The maroon team scored on its second possession, capping a 70-yard drive with a 49-yard run from Armunte Adams for the score.
Adams rushed for 79 yards for the maroon team with Jamarrion Byrd rushing for 11. Austin Barnes and James Ballard led the team with three tackles each.
Martin led the gold team with 73 yards. Martin also led the team with three tackles, and Izic Clenney had two.
Sports on 08/19/2018