PRAIRIE GROVE -- Second half mistakes on special teams maligned the defense as Prairie Grove lost 35-26 at Lonoke in a first-round playoff game Friday.
Lonoke erased a 20-14 Prairie Grove halftime lead by capitalizing on a short field to open the second half. The Jackrabbits took over at their own 41 and forged a 9-play drive using 3:32 to tie the game on Anthony Parks' 1-yard run. Lonoke took the lead, 21-20, with a successful extra-point kick and Prairie Grove would trail for the last 20:28 of the game.
A fumbled punt recovered by Lonoke set up a 6-yard drive giving the Jackrabbits a 28-20 lead at the end of the third quarter. Lonoke added another touchdown drive of 80 yards capped by a 38-yard run which put Prairie Grove in a 35-20 deficit with 7:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Prairie Grove mounted a rallying effort by forging a 63-yard march of its own. Senior fullback Garrett Heltemes ripped off a 46-yard touchdown run using a downfield block by tight end Graham Guenther to get to the end zone. A fumble on a 2-point attempt foiled the conversion leaving the Tigers with a 9-point differential, 35-26.
Lonoke recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran the clock down to 3:53 before punting. The Jackrabbits intercepted a Prairie Grove pass with 1:14 remaining, then ran out the clock handing Prairie Grove a first-round playoff loss marking the first time the Tigers hadn't advanced beyond the first-round since 2010, the last time they didn't qualify for postseason.
The Tigers scored first on Heltemes' 20-yard carry, then gave up a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter to fall behind, 14-7.
Prairie Grove scored a second touchdown on quarterback Ethan Guenther's 9-yard run. Cade Walker kicked the point-after to tie the game with 8:27 on the second quarter clock.
The score remained that way until Lonoke got a little too cute trying to score on the final play of the first half.
Prairie Grove punted and Lonoke brought out its offense with first-and-10 from the Tiger 47. Lonoke called time-out with 4.6 seconds to go in the half and set up a play they hoped would catch the Tigers by surprise by running a double-pass.
The ploy backfired.
The first pass went forward to the left flare with the runningback then attempting to throw the ball back to Lonoke quarterback Braidon Bryant, who rushed 24 times for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Prairie Grove junior defensive end Graham Guenther put a stop to the trickery by blocking the return pass. Graham Guenther seemed to be saying, "We're not going to just let you guys pitch it back and forth and make a mockery out of our defense. We're coached better than that."
Heltemes, a fleet of foot linebacker, picked up the ball and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. The Tigers opted to go for two, but fumbled and the run failed making the score, 20-14, at the half.
LONOKE 35, PRAIRIE GROVE 26
Prairie Grove^7^13^0^6^--^26
Lonoke^14^0^14^7^--^35
First Quarter
Prairie Grove -- Garrett Heltemes 20-yard run (Cade Walker kick), 10:40.
Lonoke -- Braidon Bryant 5-yard run (Nick Tate kick), 3:02.
Lonoke -- Anthony Parks 4-yard run (Nick Tate kick), 2:17.
Second Quarter
Prairie Grove -- Ethan Guenther 9-yard run (Cade Walker kick), 8:27.
Prairie Grove -- Garrett Heltemes 40-yard return (run failed), 0:00.
Third Quarter
Lonoke -- Anthony Parks 1-yard run (Nick Tate kick), 8:28.
Lonoke -- Braidon Bryant 1-yard run (Nick Tate kick), 0:44.
Fourth Quarter
Lonoke -- Braidon Bryant 38-yard run (Nick Tate kick), 7:21.
Prairie Grove -- Garrett Heltemes 46-yard run (run failed), 6:15.
TEAM STATISTICS
Prairie Grove^Lonoke
Total offense^258^512
First downs^13^26
Rushes-yards^31-184^48-454
Passing yards^74^58
Rush average^5.9^9.5
Comp-Att-TD^Int^5-14-0-1^4-7-0-0
Turnovers^3^1
Fumbles-lost^3-2^3-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Prairie Grove, Garrett Heltemes 11-108, Lane Dalton 7-36, Ethan Guenther 6-16, Jared Harger 5-15, James Millwood 2-5. Lonoke, Braidon Bryant 24-252, Anthony Parks 17-146, Davonta Adams 7-56.
PASSING -- Prairie Grove, Ethan Guenther 5-13-74-0-1, Garrett Heltemes 0-1-0-0-0. Lonoke, Braidon Bryant 4-7-58-0-0.
RECEIVING -- Prairie Grove, James Millwood 2-15, Jake Watson 1-24, Graham Guenther 1-16, Jared Harger 1-14, Kaine Caswell 1-5. Lonoke, Anthony Parks 2-13, Shawn Lake 1-35, Dalton Smith 1-10.
Sports on 11/14/2018