ARKADELPHIA -- A year after Lake Hamilton's starting quarterback was injured in a preseason scrimmage against Arkadelphia at Wolf Stadium, the Wolves took the hour drive south to face the Badgers at Badger Stadium.
This year, the worst apparent injury for the Wolves was a player needing stitches due to a cut on his chin.
Both head coaches agreed that there would be no score kept at this year's scrimmage after players on both teams argued the outcome of last year's contest, but a simple tally of the touchdowns between the two teams left both teams with seven scores each, counting the Wolves junior varsity team's touchdown on their eighth of 10 plays.
With the Badgers leading three scores to two, Lake Hamilton opened the second "half" with a seven-play, 65-yard drive for the end zone with junior Kendrick Martin running the ball in from the eight-yard line with 9:04 left in the period. The Badgers responded with senior Jaishon Davis carrying the ball 65 yards for a score with just 18 seconds ticking off the clock.
Both teams were held scoreless on their next drives before Martin scored on a 25-yard reverse with 57 seconds left in the period.The Badgers needed 12 plays -- thanks in part to a holding penalty, a fumble and a sack -- to find the end zone with junior quarterback Donovan Whitten finding classmate Latonnieo Hughes on a 12-yard laser with 1:22 off the clock in the final frame.
A Lake Hamilton fumble left the Badgers with just 37 yards to go -- an easy pass from Whitten to senior Alex Loy for the full measure -- to go up by two scores with 8:04 left in the game. The Wolves whittled away at the yardage and clock, taking advantage of too many Badgers on the field to score with 5:38 left and pull within a touchdown.
Just 17 seconds later, the Badgers were back up by two scores after senior Braylon Bailey broke free on a 65-yard touchdown run.
Finally finding their footing, the Wolves were able to break free on a pair of big plays -- a 30-yard run by Martin followed by a 34-yard run by senior Tevin Hughes, whose dive for the pylon was inches shy of paydirt. Senior quarterback Grant Bearden punched his way in on the next play to put the Wolves back within a score with 4:51 left in the game.
Lake Hamilton held Arkadelphia to just nine yards on its next drive before Hughes found the back of the end zone on a 19-yard run with 1:35 left to knot the tally. The Badgers were unable to pick up a first down, punting the ball away with four seconds remaining.
The first "half" of the contest saw both varsity teams running 12 offensive plays before the JV squads ran 10. The varsity then ran an additional eight before the second half was treated like a normal varsity half with two 12-minute periods.
The Badgers got the ball first, scoring on their seventh play of the match before failing to make a first down in the rest of their first dozen plays. The Wolves responded with a touchdown in their 10th play.
Lake Hamilton's JV squad held the Badgers scoreless while the JV Badgers committed the first penalty of the contest, a holding penalty. The JV Wolves opened their drive with a false start before working down the field on an eight-play drive that was capped with a 10-yard pass from sophomore Easton Hurley to junior Luke Atkinson for a score.
The Badgers added two more touchdowns in their second varsity run while the Wolves could not find the end zone, ending the eight-play drive with an interception.
Martin led the Wolves with 12 carries for 180 yards as well as two receptions for 13 yards. Hughes had 18 touches for 145 yards while senior Owen Miller had 60 yards on nine carries and one catch for 10. Senior Colin Ashcraft led the Wolves receiving corps with two catches for 25 yards.
Bearden was 4 for 10 for 32 yards with two interceptions while Hurley was 3 for 7 for 33 yards and a pick.
Davis led Badgers on the ground with 123 yards on 10 touches while Bailey had one carry for 65. Loy led Arkadelphia's receivers with six catches for 137 yards, Bailey adding two catches for 85 and Hughes seven for 60.
Whitten was 15 for 22 with 288 yards passing with sophomore JV quarterback Cade McBride connecting 5 of 9 times for 35.
The Wolves open their season against Lakeside on Aug. 27 at Wolf Stadium. The Badgers host Camden Fairview on Aug. 27 for their season opener.