By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
The schedule gets lighter for Lonoke Friday after five weeks of tough opponents.
The Jackrabbits (4-1, 1-1 2-4A Conference) host struggling Southside Batesville at James B. Abraham Stadium.
The Southerners (0-5, 0-2) have struggled to establish a football tradition since their program began in 2006. Southside Batesville has won only eight games in five seasons, with their last conference victory coming against Marianna-Lee two years ago.
Lonoke suffered its first loss at Newport last week.
The Jackrabbits were a fumbled extra-point snap away from having a perfect record at mid-season. But Newport caught a break with an offside penalty against the Jackrabbits on the play and converted a two-point conversion to win 31-28 on Friday.
Lonoke senior quarterback Logan DeWhitt was 10 of 21 for 189 yards with one interception, while leading receiver Blake Dill caught four passes for 103 yards. Seniorall-purpose player Darius Scott led the ground attack with 11 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore Eric Williams had three carries for 55 yards and junior tailback Keli Bryant had 15 carries for 49 yards. The Jackrabbits showed balance with 218 passing yards and 214 rushing while Newport finished with 365 total yards.
Along with his two rushing touchdowns on offense, Scott also intercepted a Newport pass in the end zone and returned it
101 yards for a touchdown.
Scott has been a one-man highlight reel for Lonoke through the first half of the year with 58 carries for 485 yards and three touchdowns through five games, along with 11 receptions for 256 yards and two more touchdowns for 741 all-purpuse yards.
He has already landed a scholarship offer from Harding University in Searcy. Scouts from Arkansas State were on hand at Newport, and Lonoke coach Doug Bost believes the college courting process has just begun.
“I think he’ll get more as the season goes on,” Bost said. “He’s really stepped up his game; it’s like night and day. He’s running the ball hard for us, whether it’s quarterback, running back, and of course the things he’s done at receiver.
“I’m really pleased with the way he’s stepped up his game.”
Dill has 25 receptions this season for 365 yards and six touchdowns. DeWhitt has completed 44 of 91 passes for 817 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions.
