LITTLE ROCK -- Pulaski Academy didn't play the previous two weeks entering Friday's Class 5A first-round contest.
The break didn't bother the Bruins.
Charlie Fiser threw three touchdown passes to help Pulaski Academy roll past Farmington 51-21 at Joe B. Hatcher Stadium in Little Rock.
It was the Bruins' first game since Oct. 30 at Beebe before they had their regular-season finale against Jacksonville on Nov. 6 canceled because of Jacksonville's covid-19 situation. They were off last week since they were one of four conference champions to not have to play in the play-in round.
The defending Class 5A state champion Bruins (10-0) will host Magnolia in the quarterfinals Friday night.
Farmington (5-6) was coming off a victory at Valley View in last week's play-in game.
Pulaski Academy led 16-0 three minutes into Friday's game thanks to an onside kick that led to their second touchdown after a touchdown on the game's opening drive.
"Our guys did what we wanted them to do, get off to a really quick start," Pulaski Academy Coach Kevin Kelley said. "Joe [Himon] hit a quick one up the middle. Vaughn Seelicke kicked a great on-side kick. Boom, boom. Now, all of a sudden, their momentum is all gone from their playoff win. We settled in.
"Psychologically, it was a huge deal."
Farmington Coach Mike Adams said Pulaski Academy's early burst was tough for the Cardinals (5-6) to overcome.
"They're good enough as it is without giving them free possessions," Adams said. "We did and it hurt us."
Pulaski Academy's starters played a half before giving way to the backups in the second half.
Fiser completed 13 of 15 passes for 150 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Nolan Buffett went 5-of-6 passing for 85 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Joe Himon rushed for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns on 7 carries while catching 2 passes for 15 yards and another score.
Cooper White led the Bruins' receivers with 4 catches for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jalyn Witcher had 6 receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Himon's 55-yard touchdown run and Bruffett's two-point conversion run gave Pulaski Academy an 8-0 lead with 10:54 left in the first quarter.
Then, Vaughn Seelicke's onside kick for the Bruins was recovered by teammate Zach Horsey at the Farmington 48. Four plays later, Fiser found Himon for a 9-yard touchdown and Caleb Nichols' two-point conversion run made it 16-0 with 9:42 left in the first quarter.
The Bruins made it 23-0 with 7:47 left in the first quarter on Bruffett's 63-yard touchdown pass to White.
Pulaski Academy recovered its second onside kick of the quarter, this one by Theo Turriff. The Bruins extended their lead to 30-0 with 5:19 remaining in the first quarter on Fiser's 2-yard touchdown pass to White.
Simon scored from 37 yards out and the Bruins stretched their lead to 37-0 with 9:28 left in the second quarter.
With 2:47 left in the second quarter, Pulaski Academy went up 44-0 as Fiser found Witcher for a 14-yard touchdown.
The Bruins outgained the Cardinals 470-48 in the first half.
"We've played some good defense all year," Kelley said. "We've seen some good running backs. We've done a really nice job."
Christian Rose had a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for the Bruins' only scoring play of the second half.
Tate Sutton threw touchdown passes of 60 yards to Avery Benton and 26 yards to Chase Brown in the second half. Caden Elsik had a 5-yard touchdown run for the Cardinals.
Pulaski Academy 51, Farmington 21
Farmington^0^0^7^14^--^21
Pulaski Academy^23^21^7^0^--^51
First Quarter
Pulaski Academy -- Joseph Himon 55-yard run (Nolen Bruffett run), 10:54
Pulaski Academy -- Joseph Himon 9-yard pass from Charlie Fiser (Caleb Nichols run), 9:42
Pulaski Academy -- Cooper White 36-yard pass from Nolen Bruffett, (Vaughn Seelicke kick), 7:47
Pulaski Academy -- Cooper White 3-yard pass from Charlie Fiser (Vaughn Seelicke kick), 5:19
Second Quarter
Pulaski Academy -- Joseph Himon 15-yard run, (Vaughn Seelicke kick), 9:28
Pulaski Academy -- Jalyn Witcher 14-yard pass from Charlie Fiser (Vaughn Seelicke kick), 2:47
Third Quarter
Pulaski Academy -- Christian Rose 4-yard run (Vaughn Seelicke kick), 3:55
Farmington -- Avery Benton 60-yard pass from Tate Sutton (Luis Zavala kick), 2:05
Fourth Quarter
Farmington -- Caden Elsik 5-yard run (Luis Zavala kick), 7:24
Farmington -- Chase Brown 26-yard pass from Tate Sutton (Luis Zavala kick), 2:31
TEAM STATISTICS
Farmington^Pulaski Academy
Total plays^48^59
First downs^10^21
Total offense^197^524
Rushes-yards^22-48^16-176
Passing yards^149^348
Rush average^2.2^11.0
Comp-Att-Yds^TD^Int^12-26-149-2-0^30-39-348-4-1
Punts-Avg.^5-36.8^0-0.0
Fumbles lost^0^2
Turnovers^0^3
Penalties-Yds^5-35^3-10
Third-down conversion^7-14^5-9
Fourth-down conversion^1-4^0-2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Farmington, Kanye Taylor 4-22, Tate Sutton 6-14, Caden Elsik 11-3, Ian Cartwright 1-6. Totals 22-48. Pulaski Academy, Joseph Himon 7-154, Christian Rose 2-16, Caleb Nichols 4-7, Kel Busby 2-3, Nolen Bruffett 1 -(-4). Totals 16-176.
PASSING -- Farmington, Tate Sutton 11-25-138-2-0, Caden Elsik 1-1-11-0-0, Totals 13-28-149-2-0. Pulaski Academy, Charlie Fiser 13-15-150-3-0, Nolen Bruffett 5-6-85-1-1, Davis Halsell 7-9-36-0-0, Kel Busby 5-8-77-0-0, Cooper White 0-1-0-0-0. Totals 30-39-348-4-1.
RECEIVING -- Farmington, Avery Benton 2-60, Chase Brown 3-41, Caden Elsik 3-19, Tate Sutton 1-11, Colin Hummel 1-10, Devonte Donovan 2-8. Totals 12-149. Pulaski Academy, Cooper White 4-100, Nick Guizol 2-73, Jalyn Witcher 6-61, Dylan Allison 3-34, Caleb Nichols 3-25, Joseph Himon 2-15, Andrew Fiser 2-14, Charlie Barker 1-14, Walker Goodwin 1-9, Kel Busby 1-8, Harrison Engskov 1-7, Will Hawkins 1-4, Zack Biagioni 1-2, Seth Ward 1-(-1), John Charette 1-(-3). Totals 39-348.