Bryant holds on to top Cabot in front of capacity crowd

By Jeff Halpern | Photos by Jimmy Jones 

BRYANT — Just like they’ve done for the past 49 games against in-state opponents, the Bryant Hornets made the plays when it counted and put themselves in the driver’s seat for another 7A-Central Conference championship. 

The No. 1-ranked Hornets (7-0, 5-0 7A-Central) forced Cabot to settle for a 21-yard field goal with 7:56 left, got a 2-yard touchdown run from Jordan Walker with 5:03 left and Bryson Adomoh intercepted Abe Owen with 3:07 left before Walker completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Carson Trickey to seal a 24-10 win over No. 2 Cabot (6-2, 4-1) before a standing-room only crowd of 6,100 at Everett Field at Hornet Stadium.

“It keeps us in the front row for a conference championship,” said Bryant head coach Buck James. “We have two really tough games ahead and hopefully this gives us some confidence in playing in a big game.”

Prior to Friday night, the only game Bryant had played that had been competitive was a 20-10 win over Little Rock Parkview on Sept. 19. They had outscored the opposition 202-52 coming into Friday’s game.

“They did the things they had to do to win the game,” said Cabot head coach Scott Reed. “I thought our kids played really well, but we made some mistakes which happens in games like this. Hats off to Bryant for the way they played.”

The Panthers appeared to be on the doorstep to taking a 14-10 lead when they marched from its 18 to the Bryant 2 in 8 plays. However, Evion Jimmerson, who rushed for 70 yards on 18 carries, was stopped for no gain on first down. Quarterback Abe Owen tried the middle and was stopped for a loss of one on second down. He was also stopped for al loss of one on third down which brought out Kade Martin for a 21-yard field goal attempt to tie the game at 10-10 with 7:56 left.

“We hadn’t stopped them for less than six yards a play all night and then we decided to play some goal line defense,” said James. “Somebody has to step up and make a play and there’s a time in a point where you have to make a play.”

Reed said, “We had a chance to take the lead, but we had to settle for the field goal, and they showed why they are good.”

The Hornets rallied to take the lead behind Walker, who was replaced for a series by Gideon Motes after he threw an interception at the 4:43 mark of the third quarter.

On a 9-play, 80-yard scoring drive to put the Hornets ahead, Walker handled the ball on six plays. He completed a 27-yard pass to Mytorian Singleton on third and four which gave the Hornets a first down at the Cabot 20. He completed a 14-yards pass to Trickey on second and eight which gave the Hornets a first down at the Cabot 4. After the Panthers were called for encroachment, James Martin was stopped for no gain and Walker, lined up in the shot gun, scored from two yards out untouched with 5:03 left. Fuller’s kick was good, and the Hornets were up 17-10.

“We needed to clear his head,” said James of Walker, who completed 15-of-19 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. “I think it did. Sometimes, you got to get out of the fray and he came back and made some big throws.”

Facing fourth and eight from its 35 with one timeout left, Cabot went for it, but Owen’s pass over the middle was intercepted by Adomoh, who returned it 15 yards to the Cabot 27. After two runs by Martin, Walker found Trickey over the middle for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 1:59 left to seal the victory.

Cabot took a 7-0 lead on its first drive of the game when Owen capped off a 15-play, 88-yard drive wit a 1-yard sneak at the 2:32 mark of the first quarter.

For the game, Owen completed 16-of-30 passes for 197 yards and rushed for 37 yards on 17 attempts, but was sacked four times.

Bryant answered with a 11-play, 79-yard drive with Martin scoring from five yards out at the 10:55 mark of the second quarter.

Bryant took a 10-7 lead on a 35-yard field goal by Fuller with 5:07 left in the second quarter, five plays after T.J. Lindsey sacked Owen and forced a fumble which Tyler Mosely recovered at the 6:42 mark.

For the game, Bryant had 244 yards in total offense and 15 first downs with Martin leading the way with 60 yards rushing on 13 carries. Singleton caught 5 passes for 58 yards and Trickey caught 3 for 48.

“We’re much improved defensively,” said Reed. “It hurts because we played so well, and we were close.”

Cabot had 313 yards in total offense and 19 first downs.

“We stayed in the game. We didn’t play well at times, but our guys found a way to win. You win 48, 49 in a row and you can say we’ve done pretty good, but they willed themselves to win.”

With games left against North Little Rock and Conway, the Hornets know two more victories can wrap up the conference title.

“North Little Rock is a big-time rival,” said James. “They’re always good, great on defense and Conway is one of the best teams in the state. This just gives us a leg up. If we go out and lay an egg, it won’t matter what we did tonight. We have a big contest next week for sure.”