By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
What started as a rout for Beebe quickly turned into a shootout as the Badgers outlasted a quick-striking Watson Chapel team 54-48 at Wildcat Stadium in the first round of the 5A state playoffs on Friday.
The Badgers (7-4) held the ball for the final eight minutes with help from a successful fake punt that resulted in a first-down run by senior Jay Holdway. That set Beebe up with a new set of downs at the Watson Chapel 45 with 6:10 left to play, but the Wildcats utilized all three of their time outs to drag out the final 13 plays by the Badgers.
The Wildcats (7-4) ran a total of 12 offensive plays in the second half, but still managed two fast scores to keep themselves in the game until the end after falling behind 21 points in the first quarter. The victory marked the first for the Badgers in the postseason since 2008.
“We knew we would have trouble with their athletes in open space,” Beebe coach John Shannon said. “We wanted to hang on to the football and run out the clock. The kids just fought hard. That was a fantastic ballgame, and I’m so proud of the kids for not getting discouraged.”
The Badgers reclaimed the lead with their first possession of the second half after recovering a Watson Chapel fumble at their own 35-yard line.
Beebe went 65 yards in eight plays, with senior quarterback Dustin Stallnaker carrying the ball the final 26 yards to put the Badgers up 41-34 following Stallnaker’s successful two-point conversion run.Matt Pursell came up with another big defensive play for the Badgers on the second play of Watson Chapel’s next drive, intercepting Jerome Easom’s pass and returning the ball to the Wildcat 34.
This time, the Badgers took it in with eight plays, six of which featured Holdway, including his five-yard run up the middle with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter. Pursell added the extra point to make it 48-34.
The Wildcats answered in one play, a 48-yard touchdown pass from Easom to Jordan Stargill, and Easom’s two-point keep cut it to 48-42.
Holdway scored again for the Badgers, this time through the air with a 15-yard toss from Stallnaker increased Beebe’s advantage to two scores again at 54-42.
The Wildcats added one more score with a five-play, 48-yard drive that was their longest of the night, capped off with a one-yard run by Devonte Battle with 7:59 left to play.
Easom finished 8 of 12 passing for 210 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for Watson Chapel.
“Their quarterback had a great night tonight throwing the ball,” Shannon said. “And our kids, for whatever reason, just didn’t tackle well once they caught the ball.”
The Wildcats had momentum and had appeared to force Beebe out in three downs at the Badger 39, but the snap went to Holdway at the up-back position. Holdway scrambled to the 45-yard line to move the chains, and the Badgers secured the game with four more first downs to run the clock out.
“We look at that every time we line up to punt,” Shannon said of the game-winning call. “We hate to give up the football. If a team is going to give it to us, we’re going to take it. We got the first down, and were able to run the clock out.”
Beebe looked dominant early when Holdway took the first play from scrimmage 47 yards down to the Watson Chapel 3-yard line. He ran it in for the score two plays later to give the Badgers a 6-0 lead with 10:57 left in the first quarter.
Beebe took over again at its own 48-yard line after three plays and a punt for the Wildcats.
It took 12 plays to increase their lead with a one-yard scoring run by Michael Kirby to finish it, putting Beebe up 14-0 following a two-point run by Stallnaker.
The lead increased to 21-0 when Kirby scored again on a 16-yard run with 3:01 remaining in the first quarter.
Stallnaker added 114 yards on 19 carries for Beebe as part of the Badgers’ 511 yards. He also completed 2 of 3 passes, both to Holdway, for 54 yards. Kirby had 15 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns, and Jeremy Van Winkle carried six times for 61 yards.
The victory keeps the Badgers alive in the Class 5A playoffs. Next week, they will travel to Cardinal Stadium to take on Camden Fairview.
The Cardinals beat Morrilton 28-21 in their first-round game Friday.
