PRAIRIE GROVE -- The dream of playing for a second-straight state championship came to an end, one game short with Prairie Grove's 48-28 loss to Warren in a 4A semifinal Friday.
Success by Warren or lack thereof by Prairie Grove during key moments in the passing game was a major factor in deciding the outcome. Warren quarterback Hayden Lassiter was on target, completing 18 of 22 passes for 437 yards and 6 touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Treylon Burks had 8 catches for 202 yards and 4 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Prairie Grove had pass receptions jarred out by Warren defenders at critical situations. The Tigers' first possessions of both halves ended with a turnover on downs.
Warren 48, Prairie Grove 28
Warren^21^7^13^7^—^48
Prairie Grove^0^14^6^8^—^28
First quarter
Warren — Treylon Burks 32-yard pass from Hayden Lassiter (Sergio Yepes kick), 10:45.
Warren — Kee montrae McKnight 56-yard pass from Hayden Lassiter (Sergio Yepes kick), 6:55.
Warren — Treylon Burks 44-yard pass from Hayden Lassiter (Sergio Yepes kick), 4:16.
Second quarter
Warren — Keemontrae McKnight 41-yard pass from Hayden Lassiter (Sergio Yepes kick), 10:33.
Prairie Grove — Isaac Disney 35-yard pass from Zeke Laird (Zeke Laird kick), 7:47.
Prairie Grove — Zeke Laird 1-yard run (Zeke Laird kick), :20.
Third quarter
Warren — Hayden Lassiter 8-yard run (Sergio Yepes kick), 8:15.
Prairie Grove — DeMarcus Cooper 30-yard pass from Zeke Laird (kick failed), 4:56.
Fourth quarter
Warren — Treylon Burks 38-yard pass from Hayden Lassiter (run failed), 9:33.
Warren — Treylon Burks 40-yard catch from Hayden Lassiter (Sergio Yepes kick), 10:27.
Prairie Grove — Zeke Laird 1-yard run (Zeke Laird pass to Clay Fidler), 4:16.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING Warren — Dennis Daniels 16-86, Byron Person 5-31, Hayden Lassiter 10-15, TEAM 1-(minus 4). Prairie Grove — Anthony Johnson 14-74, Kyle Sam 9-60, Dustin Burton 4-24, Zeke Laird 8-18, Reed Orr 3-8.
PASSING Warren — Hayden Lassiter 18-22-1-437. Prairie Grove — Zeke Laird 19-32-0-236.
RECEIVING Warren — Treylon Burks 8-202, Keemontrae McKnight 6-143, Braden Hargis 3-40, Dennis Daniels 1-22. Prairie Grove — Isaac Disney 4-96, Clay Fidler 4-50, DeMarcus Cooper 4-45, Kyle Sam 3-5, Anthony Johnson 1-13, Dustin Burton 1-10, Reed Orr 1-9, Justis McNatt 1-6.
MISSED FIELD GOALS None.
"We just did not get the job done tonight," said Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier. "I'm not sure we could have. They (Warren) are pretty good. We played pretty good. We didn't make very many mistakes. We had a couple of missed blocks and some penalties, but not too many mistakes."
Trailing 7-0, Tiger quarterback Zeke Laird completed a fourth-down pass to senior wide receiver Isaac Disney, but he was stopped a yard short. Four plays later Lassister found Keemontrae McKnight behind the Tiger secondary for a 56-yard score. The ensuing Prairie Grove drive was hampered by a false start penalty and the Lumberjacks jarred the ball out when Zeke Laird appeared to have completed a pass, but the ball was knocked loose again on fourth down. That scenario repeated on Prairie Grove's opening drive of the third quarter, allowing Warren to widen the gap.
Warren took over at midfield and drove 50 yards in 5 plays, capped by Lassiter's 8-yard run to the right pylon. Prairie Grove linebacker Anthony Johnson had a shot at him but was knocked down from behind by Mcknight. Fans wanted a block-in-the-back giving the side judge an earful, but no flag was thrown and Warren stretched their lead to 35-14 at the 8:16 mark of the third quarter.
Each team would score twice thereafter. Prairie Grove answered with DeMarcus Cooper's 30-yard touchdown catch from Zeke Laird 3:20 later, but Burks hauled in scoring passes of 38 and 40 yards from Lassiter, including a circus catch made on his fingertips at an all-out run.
"He's the best (receiver) I have ever coached against," said Prairie Grove defensive coordinator Craig Laird.
Warren opened up a 48-20 lead. Prairie Grove cut into that with Zeke Laird's 1-yard run with 4:16 left. Zeke Laird threw to Clay Fidler for a 2-point conversion.
The Tiger football team had not been tested during the 2016 like they were Friday, falling behind Warren, 28-0, with 10:33 to go in the first half. Prairie Grove finally got their offense on track. Reed Orr caught a pass for 9 yards, then Kyle Sam ran behind the block of Jack Stone for 11 yards. Knocked off balance while running the football, Johnson put a hand down while keeping his knees up to fall forward for 6 yards. On fourth-and-1, Johnson ran for 11 yards to Warren's 35-yard line. From there, Zeke Laird hit Disney for a 35-yard touchdown to get the Tigers on the scoreboard with 7:47 left in the second quarter.
Warren drove to the Tiger 11, but after a penalty, Troy Sugg sacked Lassiter on fourth down halting the drive. Prairie Grove was forced to punt, but on the Lumberjacks' next play from scrimmage, Lassiter's pass was tipped, then intercepted by Johnson. The Tigers took over in Warren territory at the 36. On second down, Sam carried the ball 11 yards for a first down at the 25. Weston Smith was belted but held on for a 6-yard pass reception. Sam again ran for a first down to the 12 and picked up a third first down by running to the two. Zeke Laird scored from a yard out, then kicked his second P.A.T. to help Prairie Grove close within, 28-14, at halftime.
The Tigers finished the post-season with only a single turnover, sort of. On third-and-2 from the Warren 7, Prairie Grove fumbled which was recovered by a Lumberjack defender, who then fumbled when hit and Dawson West got the ball back for the Tigers. Their drive was reset with a first down from Warren's 22. They overcame a penalty with Zeke Laird's completions to Johnson for 15 yards and Fidler for 9 yards setting up Zeke Laird's 1-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown.
"Zeke Laird, he did a good job tonight," Abshier said. "He's an excellent quarterback, one of the best we ever had."
Forced to throw often while playing from behind, Zeke Laird completed 19 of 32 passes for 236 yards to eight different receivers. He managed the game well, not throwing any interceptions in postseason and scoring twice on the ground Friday. Zeke Laird was 8 of 9 in the fourth quarter for 89 yards.
"We had a very, good season," Abshier said. "We hoped to be in Little Rock. We did this against Stuttgart (a 2012 semfinal loss). In my mind, whoever wins tonight between Pea Ridge and Shiloh had better get after it cause these guys (Warren) are very, stinking good."
Pea Ridge defeated Shiloh Christian in the other semifinal comprised of 4A-1 teams. Warren from the 4A-8 and Pea Ridge will play for the 2016 state championship Friday at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium.
Sports on 12/07/2016