By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
D.J. Burton won the battle of the scrambling quarterbacks over Marianna’s Joshua Smith as Lonoke held on to defeat Marianna 34-24 at James B. Abraham Stadium on Friday.
Burton led Lonoke’s rushing attack with 18 carries for 130 and three touchdowns, and completed 7 of 14 pass attempts for another 129 yards and a score. Smith, the Trojans’ 6-4, 190-pound senior stud, rushed 16 times for 79 yards and was 8 of 19 passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
The two quarterbacks generated a majority of the offensive highlights, but it was Lonoke’s secondary that made the biggest difference in the margin. The Jackrabbits (3-5, 3-2) intercepted Smith three times, including one pick by Burton in the final minute of the first half that led to a Lonoke score that gave the ’Rabbits a 13-12 lead at halftime.
“They had some big hits, and they knocked some balls down,” Jackrabbit coach Doug Bost said of his secondary. “That quarterback can throw it 50 yards off his back foot, so they did a good job.
“We heard last week that he had 200 yards just scrambling around, so we knew that was a good athlete and it showed tonight. He gave us some problems, but we stopped him when we needed to.”
Senior defensive end Austin Rowton put a stop to Marianna’s late scare when he tipped a Smith pass and pulled down the interception to set Lonoke up first-and-10 at the Trojan 21 yard line with a 27-24 lead and 2:06 left to play.
That led to Burton’s two-yard touchdown scramble with 44 seconds remaining. T.J. Scott set the final margin with his successful point-after kick.
Lonoke seized momentum to start the second half when it took its opening drive 79 yards in seven plays.
Blake Mack pulled down a pass from Burton on third and 14 to keep the chains moving early in the drive, and Burton ran for two more first downs. That set up a 42-yard touchdown pass play from Burton to Mack, who caught the ball in the middle of the field and broke right, shaking a final defender at the 2-yard line before diving into the end zone with 9:16 remaining in the third quarter.
A successful two-point conversion pass from Burton to Styver Hamric made it 21-12.
The Jackrabbits denied possession for Marianna on the ensuing kickoff when Brent Sims pulled down Scott’s onside kick at midfield. Lonoke capitalized on the opportunity with a 24-yard run by junior running back Eric Williams that set the ’Rabbits up with first-and-goal from the Marianna 2-yard line. It took Bryant just one play to punch it in and give Lonoke a 27-12 lead.
The Trojans (1-6-1, 1-4) pulled themselves back into contention at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth with a seven play, 57-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown run down the left side, cutting the gap to 27-18.
Marianna forced Lonoke’s offense off after three plays, and took over deep at its own 15-yard line. From there, the Trojans went 85 yards in 14 plays, and got help from a pass-interference call against Lonoke to set them up with a first down at the ’Rabbit 11-yard line.
Marianna scored on an 8-yard pass play to cut the score to 27-24, and forced Lonoke backward on its ensuing possession. The Trojans were set up to go on a game-winning drive at their own 31-yard line with 2:47 left on the clock and all three of their timeouts.
“They played all four quarters tonight,” Bost said. “They haven’t been doing that early, and they had to play right up to the end there.”
Burton drew first blood for Lonoke with a 50-yard touchdown scramble with 2:52 remaining in the first quarter. Smith answered for the Trojans with a 23-yard touchdown run that tied the game with 9:56 left to play in the half.
Marianna took a 12-6 lead when Smith completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Noel at the 2:40 mark of the second quarter before Burton busted through from a yard out in the final 18 seconds to tie for Lonoke, and Scott added the extra point.
Lonoke had 302 total yards to Marianna’s 293.
The Jackrabbits will host Stuttgart next week.
