By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Tuesday marked the end of the Backyard Brawl between Cabot and Jacksonville, and Cabot proved why. The class 7A Panthers dominated every aspect of the game en route to a 42-0 crushing of the 5A Red Devils.
The Cabot offense was solid on the ground and through the air, while the defensive backfield picked off three passes and the defensive front dominated the line of scrimmage.
“I didn’t expect us to dominate like that, in fact I was a little worried,” said Cabot coach Mike Malham. “They got some athletes back from last year and they gave us a lot of trouble last year. Our defense, if we can play like that with that speed we got, that’s encouraging. We have to stay injury free, but I’m excited about how we played tonight.”
The Panther defense forced three turnovers and held Jacksonville to just 46 total yards, 45 in the first half and just 1 yard of offense in the sportsmanship-rule shortened second half.
Cabot led just 14-0 with four minutes left in the first half, but halfback Preston Jones broke loose on second down and 13 for a 21-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 21-0.
Jacksonville picked up 9 yards on first down and Cabot was called for illegal substitution, but things went awry on the next two plays. Nose guard Tristan Bulice tackled Gause for a 1-yard loss. Jacksonville then went deep, but quarterback Reggie Barnes’ pass was overthrown, and Jake Ferguson picked it off at the Cabot 22-yard line. Defenders turned into blockers and Ferguson returned it 28 yards to the 50, where Jacksonville linemen Corey Harrison hit Ferguson after Malcolm Crudup made the tackle.
That drew a flag and Ferguson’s ire. Several players became involved in some pushing and shoving before coaches from both sidelines got onto the field and quickly calmed the situation.
Cabot wasn’t able to score on the possession. Ferguson, the only Panther to play offense and defense, caught a pass in the flat on fourth and 8 at the 27. After gaining 2 yards, he was held up by the Jacksonville defense, and tried unsuccessfully to lateral the ball and Jacksonville covered it.
But on another second and short, Barnes was picked off by Pat Neyhart with 15 seconds left in the first half. Then came the dagger.
On first down, Kason Kimbrell found Ferguson on a post route behind the Jacksonville defense, and laid it in his hands in stride for a 45-yard touchdown with seven seconds left in the half. Christian Underwood’s extra point made it 28-0 at halftime.
Cabot’s first touchdown came after the defense gave up one first down before forcing a punt. The punt was only 11 yards and Cabot took over at its own 47. The Panthers needed nine plays to score, with Kimbrell capping the drive with a 1-yard plunge with 5:27 left in the first quarter. The extra point was wide, leaving it 6-0.
Jacksonville got one first down on its second drive with an 11-yard pass and catch from Barnes to Crudup. Another pass to Crudup was on target, but Cabot sophomore Holdyn Barnes made a strong hit to dislodge the ball from Crudup’s grip. Gause was stopped for a 2-yard loss on second down. On third and 12, Cabot tackle Aaron Henry sacked Barnes for a 9-yard loss, forcing Jacksonville to punt.
This time the Panthers needed just eight plays to march 60 yards, with Kimbrell hitting Launius on a swing pass from the 11-yard line with 10:51 left in the half.
The Panthers got the ball to start the second half and became even more efficient, going 59 yards in six plays with Launius scoring again from three yards out to make it 35-0 with 9:14 left in the third.
The clock ran continuously from that point, but Cabot wasn’t finished scoring. After forcing a three-and-out series by Jacksonville, the Panther second-team offense put together a seven-play, 56-yard drive for the final score of the game with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
Halfbacks Dylan Thompson and Jack Whisker, and quarterback Grant Bell each had runs of 12 yards or more during the drive. Whisker carried the last 5 for the touchdown.
Jacksonville had one more three-and-out, and a two-play drive that ended with a Logan Melder interception with a minute remaining.
“It’s disappointing,” said Jacksonville coach Rick Russell. “We expected to play better. We knew Cabot would have a strong offensive line and their defensive line would be physical. They were just that, and they have a great football team. We’ve got some things to correct. We’re going to go back to work and come out ready for Benton.”
Cabot finished with 364 total yards, including 262 on the ground. Kimbrell completed six of eight pass attempts for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Launius had 101 total yards with one rushing and one receiving touchdown. He carried 12 times for 70 yards and caught two passes.
Chris Henry had eight carries for 61 yards for Cabot.
The Panthers travel to Little Rock Catholic on Sept. 13 while the Red Devils host the Benton Panthers at Jan Crow Stadium.