By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Each week shows another step in the right direction for the Sylvan Hills football team, and defense highlighted the Bears’ 28-3, Week 3 victory over rival Jacksonville Friday at Blackwood Field in Sherwood.
Sylvan Hills gave up just 92 total yards of offense, and just 21 in the second half. Jacksonville also had six penalties for 51 yards, for a net total of 41 yards of offense.
“The defense was great,” said Sylvan Hills coach Jim Withrow. “They stayed in their lanes and contained that quarterback. I’m not kidding you; he (Jacksonville’s Harderrious Martin) might be one of the best ones we’ve seen in a long time. He got them out of a couple tough situations because he’s just a great athlete. But overall the defense did a great job tonight.”
There was no aspect of the Bears’ opening game that was good. In week two, the offense rolled over Hot Springs Lakeside 48-22. This week the defense showed the improvement.
Jacksonville (1-2) didn’t get a first down until its third drive. The Titans’ best one came at the end of the first half, going from their own 40 to the Sylvan Hills 3-yard line before settling for a field goal.
They got just one first down the entire second half.
Sylvan Hills’ offense was steady against a stingy Jacksonville defense. The Bears dominated time of possession. They had eight possessions and scored on four of them. The other four ended in three turnovers on downs and one punt.
“I was pretty pleased with the offense,” Withrow said. “But I wish we could’ve converted a few times and finished them earlier. But give credit to Jacksonville for that. Those four they got up front are tough.”
The Bears scored on the game’s opening drive after sputtering the first two plays. On third and long, quarterback Ryan Lumpkin hit Deon Youngblood for a 12-yard gain and a first own. They never faced another third down the rest of the drive. The same play resulted in a 15-yard gain on second down, and set up first down at the Jacksonville 27. Youngblood got one more carry for 6 yards, and Ty Compton did the rest, carrying three times for 20 yards, going 6 on the last for the score with 8:20 to go in the first quarter.
Jacksonville went three and out on its first two drives, but stopped the Bears on downs twice as well in the first half.
Sylvan Hills (2-1) scored again when it got a short field, starting at the Titan 45-yard line. Again the Bears faced third and long after two plays, but again Youngblood took a swing pass 9 yards for the first down, and again it was the last third-down of the drive.
Compton took the same pass 12 yards on the next play to the Jacksonville 21. Lumpkin was almost sacked on the next play, but got away and to the 14-yard line. Youngblood picked up 3 yards to the 11 on second and three. He then got 10 yards on first down, and the final yard and the score with 9:56 left in the first half.
Jacksonville jumped off sides on extra point, moving the ball to the 1-yard line, and prompting Sylvan Hills to go for two. Compton was hit at the line of scrimmage, but powered his way into the end zone for the 15-0 lead.
Jacksonville got on the board just before halftime. After forcing another turnover on downs, the Titans took over on their own 40. A sack made it third and 15, but Martin got away from pressure, and then broke two tackles for a 20 yards gain and first down. Shawn Ellis then took an option pitch 20 yards to the Sylvan Hills 25-yard line.
The Bears had the Titans stopped when Martin could only managed 7 yards scrambling on third and 12, but a late-hit penalty gave the Titans a first and goal at the 10.
After a 2-yard loss, Ellis rumbled 9 yards to the three for third and goal, but Jacksonville jumped off sides after a timeout, and then gained nothing on third and 8. Josh Huber then made a 25-yard field goal as the buzzer ended the first half.
The first three possessions of the second half were all three and out – two by Jacksonville and one by Sylvan Hills. The Bears then took possession at their own 21, and put together a 15-play drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown catch by Cole Miller on the first play of the fourth quarter. The drive included four third-down conversions. Matthew Riley’s extra point made it 22-3 with 11:54 left in the game.
Jacksonville’s second-half first down was a 26-yard reception by Deboious Cobbs on third and 9, but the Titans lost 7 yards from there and turned it over on downs when Deviontae Muldrow sacked Martin.
Sylvan Hills took over on its own 35 and went that distance in 11 plays. There was only one third-down on that drive, and Jacksonville stuffed the Bears for a 1-yard loss, setting up fourth down at the Jacksonville 3-yard line. The Bears went for it, and Compton took the inside counter handoff into the end zone untouched to set the final margin with 2:55 to play.
The Bears finished with 358 yards of offense. Youngblood had 162 total yards, including 18 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns, as well as five receptions for 68 yards.
Lumpkin completed 10 of 13 pass attempts for 109 yards and one touchdown.
Both teams open conference play next week. The Bears will be on the road for their first 5A-Central matchup with Mills University Studies. The Comets are 1-2 this season, losing 25-21 in Week 1 to Jacksonville. They beat Hal 28-18 last week, but lost 37-0 to Maumelle last night.
Jacksonville is at home for its opening 6A-East matchup with Searcy. The Lions (3-0) have been rolling up the points in their three victories, averaging nearly 54 points per game. They beat Morrilton 51-17 on Friday.