By John R. Schirmer
News-Leader staff
FOUNTAIN LAKE – Climbing the 100-plus steps from their dressing room to the playing field at Fountain Lake did little to slow down the Nashville Scrappers Friday night as they defeated the Cobras 65-29 in a District 7-4A game.
Along the way, penalties did slow things up as the Scrappers (5-0, 2-0) and Cobras (0-5, 0-2) combined for 222 yards in penalties, including 15 flags for 132 yards against Nashville and 10 penalties for 90 yards against Fountain Lake.
Still, “It was a good victory,” Coach Mike Volarvich said. “We were glad to get in and get out. Fountain Lake has been a thorn in our side the last couple of years. We were able to play tough and get out healthy.”
Volarvich said he was “glad to see our players overcome some early adversity. We were put in several long-yardage situations by penalties. A lot of times, it isn’t easy to overcome those. We got a 71-yard touchdown and several other plays where it didn’t affect us.”
On the other hand, “We played sluggish in the first half. There wasn’t a lot of the excitement we’ve had before. The effort wasn’t where we needed it to be, but we still made some big plays,” Volarvich said.
Ty Pettway opened the scoring for the Scrappers on a 7-yard pass from Tyler Hanson in the first quarter. Jose Hernandez made the PAT to put Nashville up 7-0. Hernandez kicked 9 of 9 extra points against the Cobras.
Fountain Lake came back with a 46-yard TD pass on the next series but missed the PAT and trailed 7-6.
Dominick Kight scored next for the Scrappers on a 71-yard pass from Hanson.
Zach Jamison added a touchdown on a 29-yard from Hanson, and Pettway scored on another 29-yard Hanson throw.
Fountain Lake scored on a 3-yard run and made the 2-point conversion to pull to within 2 touchdowns and PATs at 28-14.
Trent Harris wrapped up the Scrappers’ first quarter scoring on a 6-yard pass reception from Hanson. Nashville led 35-14 after the first quarter.
The teams swapped TDs in the second quarter, with Fountain Lake scoring on a 30-yard run and 2-point conversion, and the Scrappers getting into the endzone on a 17-yard pass from Hanson to Kight. Nashville took a 42-22 lead into halftime.
Darius Hopkins opened the third quarter with a 50-yard TD run. Harris followed up with a 2-yard scoring run, and Hopkins scored again from 2 yards out. Kalob Carpenter covered the ball in the endzone for a safety late in the quarter, and Nashville led 65-22.
Fountain Lake put up the final touchdown of the night on a 22-yard run late in the game.
Hanson completed 14 of 18 passes for 292 yards and 6 touchdowns. “The 6 touchdown passes in the first half ties Hanson for second in the state for touchdown passes in one half,” Volarvich said.
The record is 8 set by Pulaski Academy in 2001, according to the Arkansas Activities Association.
Hopkins was the Scrappers’ leading rusher with 11 carries for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns. Harris had 6 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown.
TK Hopkins carried the ball 6 times for 32 yards. Pettway ran once for 6 yards.
Kight was the leading receiver with 2 catches for 88 yards and 2 TDs. Pettway was a close second with 4 catches for 82 yards and 2 TDs.
Harris made 3 catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Jamison had 3 catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. C.J. Spencer ran the ball twice for 24 yards.
Defensively, the Scrappers “came back after halftime. We gave up 13 first downs in the first half and 1 in the second half. I’m happy with their response. They were a lot better in the second half,” Volarvich said.
Jordan White recorded 8 tackles, including 7 solo and 1 assist. He also had a tackle for a loss.
Austin Gibbs had 5 total tackles. Hunter White had 5 tackles and a TFL.
Michael Bevill had 3 solo tackles.
Jordan Summers had 6 total tackles. Mace Green had 3 with a TFL. Garrett Jordan had 4 total. Dennis Scott and Sam Cogburn made 2 tackles. Kight, Carpenter and Armani Hatchet had 1 each.
Spencer had 1 solo, 1 assist and a sack.
Kailus Hughes had 5 total tackles, Marquell McFalls 3 and Dalton Smead and Xavier Nunally had 2 each.
Nashville ran 46 plays, with 47 for the Cobras.
The Scrappers had 544 yards total offense, with 292 passing and 252 rushing.
Both teams made 10 first downs.
The Scrappers had 3 turnovers, including 2 lost fumbles and an interception.
Fountain Lake lost 2 fumbles.
