By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Junction City Dragons intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to seal a 38-28 class 2A semifinal victory over Carlisle on Friday in El Dorado.
The pick six came with 39 seconds remaining, and put an end to a comeback by the Bison after falling behind 30-14.
Carlisle mounted a comeback and put up offensive numbers like no team has against the Dragons.
With 4:04 left in the third quarter, Junction City took advantage of Carlisle’s third turnover and scored to go up by 16.
The Bison got one back before the quarter ended.
Fullback DeRon Ricks completed a long drive with a 2-yard run with 1:08 remaining in the third. The two-point conversion failed after an illegal procedure penalty moved the ball back to the 8-yard line. It was the second time in the game that Carlisle got a penalty before a two-point conversion, and they failed to convert both times.
The Bison defense then stopped Junction City, and didn’t take long to score again. This time it was halfback Bo Weddle who carried for the final 6 yards with 9:06 remaining in the game. He also got the two-point conversion to make it a two-point game.
Carlisle’s defense got another stop, but the offense grew ineffective when Ricks went down with 2:42 remaining with a hyper extended knee.
Facing third and long, Carlisle had to try to pass, and it resulted in the game-ending interception.
Carlisle threw three passes and completed none. The Bison ran for 242 yards, with Ricks getting 198 of those on 38 carries and scoring three touchdowns.
The Dragons had 241 total yards with 175 rushing. They will face Des Arc, who beat Bearden 8-0 in the other semifinal, in next Saturday’s championship game.