FARMINGTON -- The goal of becoming Farmington's first football team to qualify for the 5A State football playoffs is in reach despite last week's 42-14 loss at Morrilton.
The loss in 5A West play dropped Farmington to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in league games while Morrilton improved to 6-3 overall, and 4-2 in the 5A West. The loss puts the Cardinals in a must-win situation Friday on the road at Harrison (6-3, 4-2).
Morrilton 42, Farmington 14
Farmington ^7^0^0^7—14
Morrilton ^21^0^14^7—42
First Quarter
Morrilton – Jacolby Criswell 2-yard run (Jesus Arias kick).
Morrilton – Laken Dillard 39-yard pass from Jacolby Criswell (Jesus Arias kick).
Morrilton – Jacolby Criswell 60-yard run (Jesus Arias kick).
Farmington – Caleb Williams 1-yard run (Drew Sturgeon kick).
Third Quarter
Morrilton – Xaviar Clemons 4-yard run (Jesus Arias kick).
Morrilton – Mason Adams 40-yard run (Jesus Arias kick).
Fourth Quarter
Farmington – Jacob Gray 10-yard pass from Trey Waggle (Drew Sturgeon kick).
Morrilton – Xaviar Clemons 4-yard run (Jesus Arias kick).
TEAM STATISTICS
Farmington^Morrilton
Total plays^61^77
Total yards^205^573
First downs^12^22
Rushes-yards^27-76^40-363
Rush average^2.8^9.1
Passing yards^129^210
Comp-Att-Int^14-29-0^14-28-1
Third downs 3-12^6-14
Fourth downs 1-2^2-2
Fumbles-Lost^1-1^0-0
Penalties-Yards^7-45^8-66
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Farmington, Caleb Williams 17-51, Reid Turner 6-19, Drew Sturgeon 1-4, Jared Oskey 1-1, Trey Waggle 2-1. Morrilton, Xaviar Clemons 14-169, Jacolby Criswell 10-99, Mason Adams 1-40, Brett Jones 7-32, Kenneth Belmonte 5-13, John McCray 2-3.
PASSING—Farmington, Trey Waggle 14-29-129-1-0. Morrilton, Jacolby Criswell 13-27-198-1-1, Carson Collins 1-1-12-0-0.
RECEIVING—Farmington, Jacob Gray 5-48, Drew Sturgeon 5-21, Xavier Staten 2-32, Caleb Williams 1-25, Jared Oskey 1-3. Morrilton, Laken Dillard 4-62, Mason Adams 2-38, Tory Criswell 2-22, Lamar Wofford 2-20, Terry Franklin 1-5.
"The playoff situation is simple -- win and we are going to play at Watson Chapel, lose and we go home," said Farmington coach Mike Adams.
Morrilton sophomore quarterback Jacolby Criswell completed 13 of 27 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown and ran for 99 yards and 2 scores to lead all three first quarter scoring drives. Morrilton's offense was anything but a one-man show. Fellow sophomore Xaviar Clemons led the Devil Dogs with 14 carries for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior Laken Dillard caught 4 passes for 62 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown pass from Criswell in the first quarter.
The early deficit coupled with an injury forced Adams to shift the offensive strategy, which in previous weeks relied heavily on the running of tailback Caleb Williams.
"We ran the ball effectively at times, but Caleb Williams was nursing a bad ankle and we got down early so we had to throw the ball more than usual," Adams said. "Trey Waggle had a good night throwing. Jacob Gray had 5 receptions and so did Drew Sturgeon, including two acrobatic diving catches."
Farmington cut into the lead before the first quarter expired behind the passing Waggle, who was 14-of-29 for 129 yards and a touchdown without throwing an interception. On third-and-two from his own 43 Waggle lined up in the shotgun and threw a short pass to Williams, who made the catch in the backfield behind blockers. The Cardinals held their blocks and sprung Williams, who went up the sideline for a 25-yard gain before he was tackled from behind.
Later in the drive Waggle lined up under center facing third-and-six from Morrilton's 16. He dropped back and hit Gray (5 catches, 48 yards) on a short out. Gray turned upfield and battled his way to Morrilton's one. Williams ran up the gut for a touchdown to cap the drive. Sturgeon's extra-point kick pulled the Cardinals within, 21-7.
Neither team scored in the second period. A Morrilton threat was halted when senior cornerback Javan Jowers came away with an interception. Jae Woods flushed Criswell out of the pocket and he threw on the run from the left hashmark. Jowers read his eyes and picked off the pass in the middle of the field near the Cardinal eight. Jowers ran left and returned the ball to the 39. Jowers finished with 4 solo tackles and 2 assists.
Waggle completed another pass to convert a second-and-five from his own 17 that helped the Cardinals gain field position and keep Morrilton out of the end zone in the second. Sturgeon ran 1-on-1 down the sideline and Waggle was on target for a 19-yard completion that Sturgeon turned into a spectacular catch. He leaped to catch ball, then got a foot down before going out-of-bounds at the 36.
Despite these heroics, Farmington couldn't put any more points on the board. Morrilton scored on Clemons' 4-yard run and a 40-yard run by receiver Mason Adams to push their lead out to 35-7 in the third quarter. A Farmington drive stalled late in the period. Waggle hit Gray on a crossing route for 10 yards, but the Cardinals couldn't convert fourth-and-three.
For the game Farmington made good on 1 of 2 fourth downs, the second of which was successful and helped set up their second touchdown which came in the fourth. Looking at fourth-and-eight from Morrilton's 49, Waggle passed for 27 yards to senior wide receiver Xavier Staten double-covered on a flag pattern. Waggle polished off the drive by finding Gray against triple coverage. Lined up on the right side, Gray broke free for a moment and that was all Waggle needed, who threaded the needle for a 10-yard score.
Morrilton added another Clemons 4-yard scoring run in the fourth and won 42-14. Farmington's defense was led by Colton Kilgore with 8 solos and 1 assisted tackle. Skylar Montez had 5 solos and 1 tackle for loss. Gray averaged 37-yards-per-kick on 7 punts with a long of 48.
Sports on 11/01/2017