CLASS 7A PLAYOFFS : Har-Ber outruns North Little Rock
Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2008
SPRINGDALE — North Little Rock had no answer for Springdale Har-Ber running back Derek Brinker on Friday.
Brinker ran 22 times for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Wildcats rolled to a 37-21 victory in the first round of the Class 7 A playoffs at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.
Brinker had touchdown runs of 1, 57 and 73 yards to spark a 332-yard rushing performance by the Wildcats (9-2 ). Tre Tyler added 100 yards and a touchdown on eight carries in the fourth quarter.
“I thought they ought to be running the ball more,” North Little Rock Coach Brad Bolding said. “That’s what they do best.
“ They’ve got big linemen and a big back. They open up holes.”
The first hole was opened on the game’s third play, when Brinker popped into the secondary and outran the Charging Wildcats 57 yards to the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
Har-Ber pushed the lead to 14-0 midway through the second quarter on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Zach Faust to Kaleb Vaughn.
The Charging Wildcats (7-4 ) answered on a 5-yard pass from David Hope to DeAngelo Mabry.
North Little Rock was within 17-7 when Zach Smith intercepted a Hope pass late in the third quarter. Brinker sprinted 73 yards up the middle on the next play to extend the lead to 24-7 with 1: 53 left in the third quarter.
After another interception, Brinker ran a yard to cap a fiveplay drive for a 31-7 lead after three quarters.
“You’ve got to be able to run the football and play defense, and we did that tonight,” Har-Ber Coach Chris Wood said. “We had a couple of breakaway runs and that’s not something we have done much.
“ We got a couple turnovers in the second and third quarters that set the tempo for us.”
Hope had touchdown passes of 35 yards to Darius Walton and 51 yards to Donald James in the fourth quarter.
Faust was 12 of 19 for 178 yards for the Wildcats, who piled up 510 yards offense.
Hope was 10 of 20 for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he was also intercepted twice. North Little Rock managed only 25 yards on the ground.
The Wildcats play at Cabot in the second round next Friday.
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