By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills defense was smothering and the offense was machine-like as the Bears totally dismantled Little Rock Parkview 48-7 Friday at Blackwood Field in Sherwood.
The game was all but over by the end of the first quarter, when Sylvan Hills already led 28-0. That increased to 48-0 by halftime, and the Sylvan Hills backups played the entire second half as the clock ran continuously.
Sylvan Hills’ defense recorded two sacks, nine tackles for loss, blocked a punt, covered a fumble and intercepted a pass in the first half.
Total yardage in the opening half favored Sylvan Hills 341-14, and that’s the statistic Bear head coach Jim Withrow liked the most.
“That’s the thing, in order for us to win a championship, our defense has to be good,” Withrow said. “They were great tonight. They’ve gotten better every week and that’s what we want to see.”
The Bears got the ball first and floated down the field, picking up yards in big chunks. Dylan Fairrow had back-to-back runs of 21 and 14 yards before quarterback Jordan Washington kept for 15 to set up first down at the 10-yard line.
Two plays later, Washington got the final 7 yards of the drive and Wesley Smith added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 9:17 on the clock.
Parkview lost 21 yards on its second play on a sack by safety Darius Waddell. The Patriots punted from their own 12, but the kick was blocked. Bear defender Davien Farr caught the deflected punt at the 8 and returned it to the 4.
From there, Deon Youngblood rumbled 4 yards for a 14-0 lead with 6:22 left in the opening quarter.
Sylvan Hills held Parkview to just 4 yards on the next possession and forced another punt.
Starting from their own 30, the Bears went 70 yards in five plays. The key play came on third and 9 when Washington found Aaron Dixon down the right sideline for a 48-yard gain to the 21. Youngblood went 14 to set up first and goal, and Washington did the rest for a 21-0 lead with 3:30 remaining in the opening quarter.
Sylvan Hills then covered an onside kick and started again at the Parkview 47.
The Patriots sacked Washington on first down, but the Bear QB hit Fairrow down the middle on second down. Fairrow dodged one tackler and turned it into a 51-yard touchdown reception.
Smith’s extra point made it 28-0 with 2:38 still to go in the first quarter.
Not much changed in the second quarter. Parkview got a little bit of offense going, but plays for lost yardage negated most of the gains.
Parkview’s best drive started at their own 31 and got all the way to the Sylvan Hills 30, but everything went wrong from there.
Running back Zachary Smith was dropped for a 9-yard loss by Dixon, and then a 4-yard loss by Fred Mackey. The shotgun snap then got away from quarterback Gary Allman and resulted in a loss of 23 yards. On the next play, the snap bounced off Parkview’s motion man and into the arms of Farr, which set the Bears up at the Patriot 39.
Three runs by Jamar Porter of 14, 16 and 9 yards were all the Bears needed for a 34-0 lead with 11:12 left in the half.
Parkview’s Zachery Smith reeled off a 16-yard run on the next possession, but on the next play, Sylvan Hills safety Camron Flippo got his first of two interceptions on the night.
Ryan Lumpkin caught a pass for 11 yards on the first play after the turnover. Three plays later on third and 10, Porter turned a swing pass to the left into a 22-yard gain to the Parkview 38.
A holding penalty backed the Bears up 10 yards, but Devante White made a 21-yard catch before Washington kept for 21 yards to the 15.
Porter then had runs of 12 and 3 for a 41-0 lead with 6:38 to go in the second quarter.
Parkview gained just 2 yards on its next possession before turning it over on downs at its own 37.
Lumpkin replaced Washington at quarterback and threw for 7 yards to Jamar Lane on second and 10. Porter got 3 yards on fourth and 1 to keep the drive going. Lumpkin then hit Porter for a 20-yard pass play to the Parkview 6. After a 4-yard run by Porter, Lumpkin hit tight end Cole Miller in the end zone for a 48-0 lead with 1:04 left in the half.
Parkview scored to set the final margin on the opening drive of the second half. Sophomore Chris Scroggins carried four times for 37 yards on the drive, including a 27-yard run for the touchdown.
Sylvan Hills’ offensive attack was balanced and spread out. The Bears ran for 219 yards though Porter was the leading rusher with 55 yards on eight carries. Sylvan Hills threw for 174 yards, with Washington completing 5 of 8 for 144, and Lumpkin going 3 for 3 for 30.
The Bears (8-1, 5-1) will travel to Beebe to close the regular season next week. The Badgers (4-5, 3-3) have struggled at times this season, but will be playing for a potential playoff berth and have beaten Sylvan Hills the past two seasons.
