GCT knocks off Magnolia

MAGNOLIA — Greene County Tech rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Magnolia 28-24 in the first round of the Class 5A state football playoffs on Friday night.
The game-winning score came with 4:35 left when Kyle Davis scored on a 32-yard run to make it 28-24.
The Golden Eagles (9-2), the No. 3 seed from the East, will travel to Monticello next week. The second-seeded Panthers from the Southwest finished their season 7-4.
Greene County Tech, after a 41-yard opening kickoff return by Davis, scored the first touchdown with 9:18 to play in the opening period. Quarterback Justin Johnson hit receiver Caleb Hartwig on a 22-yard strike. Dale Johnson’s point-after kick made it 7-0.
Magnolia answered with a 12-play drive on the following possession to tie the game at 7-7 with 27 seconds remaining on the first-quarter clock. Tailback L.J. Berry scored from the 2 and Jarryd Dempsey added the PAT.
On a fake punt, the Panthers went up 14-7 when Landon Simpson threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Berry with 2:35 to play in the first half.
The Panthers got a 30-yard field goal from Dempsey before halftime and led 17-7.
Davis intercepted a pass thrown by quarterback Addison Henson and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown with 11:14 to play in the third quarter. The PAT closed the gap to 17-14. With 2:32 left in the same quarter, Standrick Williams scored from the 16 as the Golden Eagles regained the lead, 21-17.
Magnolia went back in front 24-21 when Berry scored from the 5 with 6:16 left in the contest.

T-Birds roll into second round

CONWAY — Blake Veasley and the Cross County Thunderbirds are still going.
Veasley ran for 343 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries Friday night during Cross County’s 57-36 victory over Conway Christian in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs. The Thunderbirds, who never punted, finished with 579 total yards.
Rubin Hill added 91 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries for Cross County, which had 511 rushing yards.
“Our offensive line absolutely dominated tonight,” Cross County coach Steve Williams said. “They played the best game they’ve played all year. Veasley had holes that I could have run through some of them.”
Cross County (7-4) earned its sixth consecutive victory. The Thunderbirds visit 2A-5 champion Danville (10-1) next week.
Conway Christian (6-4) took an 8-0 lead before the Cross County onslaught began. Veasley bolted 69 yards for a touchdown on the Thunderbirds’ first play from scrimmage and added the 2-point conversion to tie the score.
Veasley’s 2-yard touchdown run and Hill’s 2-point conversion put the Thunderbirds ahead 16-8 later in the opening period. Wade Halk connected with Darrian Hare on a 33-yard touchdown pass to give Cross County a 22-8 lead less than a minute into the second quarter.
Conway Christian scored twice in the second quarter, wrapped around Veasley’s 6-yard touchdown run and Hill’s 2-point conversion at the 2:36 mark, to pull within 30-24 at halftime.
Hill scored on a 22-yard run and Adam Baldwin added a 1-yard scoring run to push Cross County’s lead to 42-24 in the third quarter. After a Conway Christian touchdown, Veasley reached the end zone on a 20-yard run, and Hill again scored the 2-point conversion to make it 50-30.
Hill scored on a 7-yard run with 1:36 left in the game and Veasley added the extra point. Conway Christian scored in the final minute.

De Queen rolls past Gosnell

GOSNELL — The De Queen Leopards earned a second game in the Class 4A state football playoffs Friday night by dispatching Gosnell 47-0 in the first round.
De Queen (7-4) will travel to defending state champion Shiloh Christian next week. Gosnell, the third-place team from the 4A-3 conference, finishes the season 7-4.
Tailback Greg White helped the Leopards build a 14-0 lead in the first quarter with touchdown runs of 6 and 2 yards. Jamario Ervin threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Grant Dooley and scored on a 22-yard run to give De Queen a 27-0 halftime lead.
Corey Morgan scored on a 5-yard run in the third quarter. Ervin added a 45-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and Dooley returned an interception 30 yards for the final touchdown.
Ervin finished with 116 yards on nine carries, while Morgan had 103 yards on 10 carries. White had 76 yards on 11 carries.