By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Beebe overcame turnovers, penalties and bizarre clock procedures – not to mention an emotionally charged Lonoke team on the way to a 36-33 come-from-behind victory at James B. Abraham Stadium on Friday.
Lonoke junior Eric Williams gave the Jackrabbits early breathing room with a 50-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage and a kickoff return for a score in the first half.
The Badgers (1-1) marched back from a three-score deficit to take their first lead of the game with 3:49 left to play when senior quarterback Dustin Stallnacker sneaked into the end zone for the winning score.
Beebe’s defense also held strong in the second half, limiting the Jackrabbits (0-2) to just 82 yards of offense through the final two quarters.
“We tried like crazy to give it away in the first quarter,” Beebe coach John Shannon said. “The very first play of the game, they bust a long one. We knew their speed was going to be an issue. It took us the whole first quarter to adjust to it.
“Offensively, we kept moving the ball up and down the field, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties. But we finally got some stuff fixed. Hats off to them, they played hard, but man, my guysnever quit.”
The Jackrabbits were playing in honor of senior teammates Justin Carpenter and Keli Bryant, who were both injured in an early-morning traffic accident during their commute to school on Friday. The team ran out from the inflatable tunnel holding the players’ jerseys up at the front of the line.
Lonoke quickly went up by two scores when junior quarterback D.J. Burton found Dra Offord up the middle for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 9:43 left in the first quarter. T.J. Scott added the point-after to make it 14-0.
Burton called his own number for Lonoke’s next score when he punched it in from a yard out with 5:18 left in the opening period. Scott’s point after gave the Jackrabbits a 21-0 margin with just over three quarters left to play, but Beebe began inching its way back during the next possession.
Senior halfback Jay Holdway got things going with a 40-yard run that gave the Badgers a first down at the Lonoke 39-yard line, and Michael Kirby took over from there with four rushes for 28 yards, including a one-yard touchdown run with 1:43 left in the first quarter. Matt Pursell converted the point-after to make it 21-7.
Williams answered quickly for Lonoke with an 84-yard touchdown kickoff return that made it 27-7. Williams received Pursell’s kick at his own 16 and cut all the way left just before the 30-yard line to go untouched.
Beebe added another score early in the second quarter with a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a two-yard off-tackle run by sophomore fullback Eric Thorn. The left side of Beebe’s offensive line, led by senior tackle Tyler Love, started pushing back Lonoke’s defense after a tough go in the first quarter.
“That’s what we’ve been expecting all year long,” Shannon said. “I felt like in the second quarter, the offensive line really established themselves. We were blowing some big holes open. We kept pounding and pounding, and they really came through tonight.”
The first half went by quickly until the final 1:35, when the clock did not run during Beebe’s final offensive play of the half. An incomplete pass from Stallnacker to Ethan Boyce on fourth-and-five at the Lonoke 25-yard line gave the ball back to Lonoke with a 27-13 lead and plenty of time left to score.
The Jackrabbits’ drive stalled at the 27 thanks in part to a holding call, and Beebe tried to call time out on third down with a second left. The clock ran to zeros, but the officials recognized the time out call and put 0.9 seconds back on the clock. Beebe tried to call another quick timeout when the clock failed to run on Lonoke’s fourth down play, but the clock went to zero again after the play was over, and the Jackrabbits headed for the field house.
Shannon voiced his displeasure to officials before heading off the field.
“I don’t want to get on record saying something,” Shannon said. “But that’s something I worry about when we’re at Beebe, because you don’t want someone walking away feeling like they weren’t treated fairly. I’m not saying we weren’t — humans make mistakes — but those are big things right there.”
Holdway led the Badgers with 17 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown, while Stallnacker added 137 yards and a score on 13 totes. Beebe finished with 473 total yards.
“He did a great job,” Shannon said of Holdway. “He was over 100 yards, and Peanut, our quarterback, he was over 100 yards. So, to have two backs go over 100 yards in one night, that’s pretty doggone good.”
For Lonoke, Williams had 11 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown while Burton added 13 carries for 68 yards, and completed 8 of 14 passes for 120 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
The Jackrabbits had 281 total yards.
Beebe will return home next week to host Vilonia while Lonoke hosts McGehee.
