Mena might have been held to just 150 total yards of offense, but the Class 5A Hot Springs Trojans could not get the edge over the Class 4A Bearcats, falling 10-6 Friday night at Tommy J. Holt Field at Joe C. Reese Stadium.
"We played really good defensively," said Hot Springs second-year head coach Darrell Burnett. "[You] want to score on defense; that's what we try to do every week. We didn't get that done, but we played hard, played fast -- physical.
"But if you give up 10 points, you've got to win those games -- don't care where you're at."
Hot Springs (1-1) managed to get on the board first as sophomore quarterback Isaac Shelor found senior Malik Brewer for a 36-yard pass for the end zone with 4:12 left in the opening quarter. Senior kicker David Carter's kick failed to split the uprights however, leaving the Trojans with a 6-0 lead.
The Bearcats (3-0) avoided a scoreless first half with a 24-yard connection with 58 seconds left in the half. Senior quarterback Zane Stephens found junior Gaven Hooper for the touchdown, and junior kicker Jet Hernandez made it 7-6 at the break.
Mena's final points came on a 23-yard field goal by sophomore Evan Graves in the waning moments of the third frame to set what would become the final spread as the Bearcats wrapped up their nonconference schedule. Mena will be off Week 3 before opening its conference season at home against Ozark.
Burnett said that there were some things that could have worked out better for the Trojans, but he did see some positives.
"Special teams-wise, we could've changed the field position more, but they did some good things," he said. "Punting, we had to play the fake; we couldn't risk our quarterback, so we couldn't get a return like we wanted to in that phase. Offensively, we've got to find our mojo and keep going like we did in the second [and] third quarters against Fountain Lake."
Shelor was 10-for-20 for 153 yards with one touchdown and one interception while rushing twice for one yard. Sophomore Pierce Smalley reeled in three catches for 33 yards to lead the receivers corps. Malik Brewer caught three for 76 yards and one touchdown, and senior Trent Gordon had two catches for 14 yards.
Junior Carlos Brewer carried the ball 14 times while rushing for 50 yards to lead the team on the ground, and he also snagged a pair of passes for 30 yards.
Junior Adrian Conway paced the Trojans defensively with one sack for a 13-yard loss, and Carter had an interception.
Burnett was also pleased with senior safety Devin Hill, who was matched up against junior tight end Mason Brotherton.
"Devin Hill had a great game," he said. "He was matched up pretty much all night with a tight end who has a bunch of Division 1 offers, and I want to say he held him without a catch, played really physical, [was] good on blocks and hustled to the ball. He's the leader of our defense."
Overall, Burnett was pleased with his team's defense.
"Although he didn't get any balls thrown his way, DeAnte Sanders played a good game," he continued. "Devin Johnson out there at linebacker always plays good. D-line, we've got Anthony Island back. Conway got a little dinged up, but overall, we played good. You just want to score on defense."
The Trojans will travel to Pearcy on Friday as they take on the Lake Hamilton Wolves (2-0) at Bank OZK Field at 7 p.m.
"We've got to win these games," Burnett said. "As coaches, you've got to put your kid in a position to be successful all over the field. We've got to coach better; we've got to play better."
Sports on 09/15/2019