By JOHNNY RAY LAKE
Special to The Leader
Beebe linebacker Jay Holdway stripped the ball from Vilonia running back James Sax with 1:24 left in the game and the Badgers held on for a wild 27-24 win over the Eagles at A.S. “Bro” Erwin Stadium on Friday.
But the outcome was unclear, even after the final seconds ticked off the game clock.
Beebe (2-1) ran three plays while Vilonia (1-2) used its three timeouts, and on fourth down and 18 seconds left, a mishandled snap on the punt by Badger punter Dustin Stallnacker led to a dramatic finish. Stallnacker picked up the ball and began to run to his own end zone in hopes of settling for a safety. But Vilonia tackled him at the 3-yard line, giving the Eagles first and goal with 12.6 seconds remaining. Eagles quarterback Jake Steward ran a sneak into the right side of his line, and as the officials conferred to discuss if the ball crossed the end zone, the clock ran out. The officials then spotted the ball inches outside the end zone, and the Badgers began celebrating.
Vilonia coach Jim Stanley, visibly upset over the time it took to make the call by the officials, raced onto the field in protest. His displeasure with the ruling on the field and the time to make the call was evident, as he had to be restrained by his assistant coaches. It was a difficult ending for the Eagles, but certainly a thrilling victory for the Badgers.
Those who braved the cool and wet conditions were treated to an exciting game from beginning to end. Beebe began with a successful onside kick, which they recovered on the Eagles 48-yard line. On the third play from scrimmage, Stallnacker found running back Jay Holdway for a 45-yard touchdown pass. The missed extra point gave the Badgers a 6-0 lead with 10:35 left in the first quarter.
Vilonia quickly responded on their first drive when Eagles quarterback Jake Steward ran a sneak on fourth and one, and after disappearing into the line, somehow managed to bounce out to his left for a 36-yard touchdown run. The extra point gave Vilonia a 7-6 lead.
Vilonia missed a field goal near the end of the first quarter gave Beebe first down at its own 20. Senior running back Rory Moore ran 75 yard down to the Eagles 5-yard line. On the final play of the first quarter, Badger running back Eric Thorn found the end zone from five yards out, and the successful two-point conversion run by Stallnacker made it 14-7 Beebe at the end of the first quarter.
Beebe then tried another onside kick, but Vilonia recovered at its own 49-yard line. The Eagles then scored quickly on a 51-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter.
Holdway made another big play in the game, this time with an interception at his own 14-yard line with 2:41 remaining in the first half. Beebe quickly moved down the field, and on third and 10 from the Eagles 21-yard line, Dakota Lovston caught a tipped pass off the hands of an Eagle defender and raced into the end zone with 20 seconds left in the first half. Beebe led at halftime 21-14.
The Badgers went three and out to start the second half. Vilonia ran the fourth down punt back 30 yards to the Badgers’ 30-yard line. Vilonia ended the short drive with a 41-yard field goal, closing the deficit to 21-17 with eight minutes left in the third quarter.
Beebe responded with a methodical drive of its own, ending with a 22-yard touchdown run by Holdway, who seemed to have a hand in every big play of the game. At the end of three quarters, Beebe led Vilonia 27-17.
Vilonia then drove 55 yards on its next possession and found the end zone on a two-yard touchdown fun by Jake Steward, his second of the game.
The Eagles pulled to within three with 11:38 remaining in the fourth. Beebe went for it on fourth and two from the Eagle 20-yard line with 6:21 remaining, but was stopped for a loss of a yard. The Eagles then drove 11 plays down to the Badger 27 before Holdway made the huge strip of the ball, ending the hopeful scoring opportunity for the Eagles.
The Badgers finished with 290 yards rushing on 46 attempts. Stallnacker was 4-7 passing with 103 yards and two touchdowns.
For Vilonia, the Eagles had 38 rushes for 171 yards and 51 yards passing.
