Bi-district playoffs rewind: Hornets rally to advance
Published 8:05 am Tuesday, November 19, 2024
- Grand Lake's Luke Wainwright kicks an extra-point on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in a game against DeQuincy High School. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Grand Lake pulled off another big comeback to extend its high school football season another week.
Down by 14 points, the No. 13 Hornets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat No. 20 Jonesboro-Hodge 23-20 on a last-second field goal by Luke Wainwright in the Non-select Division IV bi-district playoffs.
It is the fourth time that Grand Lake has rallied from 14 or more points.
“It was one of those games that we made some mistakes early,” head coach Jeff Wainwright said. “I don’t know if it was just the playoff atmosphere or jitters. We couldn’t get the ball into the end zone early.
“The defense was doing a really good job. We gave up a few points, but we were making a ton of good plays. That was what we talked about at half-time. I told them to just keep working and good things would happen. It was a very exciting night. It was a great reward for everyone who has put a lot of work in. It was good for our community to see them play like that at the end of the year.”
Brycen Guillory’s 55-yard run tied the score at 20-20 and Wainwright elected to call for an onside kick, despite an attempt earlier in the quarter not panning out. This time it worked. Charles McFarland recovered the ball and the Hornets spiked the ball with 15 seconds left to set up Wainright’s 22-yard go-ahead field goal.
They needed a big defensive play in the closing seconds when McFarland tackled a Jonesboro-Hodge ball carrier at the Hornets’ 4-yard line as time expired.
McFarland recorded his ninth consecutive 100-yard rushing game with 169 on 24 carries, including a 35-yard touchdown in the second quarter and an 8-yarder in the fourth that started the Hornets’ comeback.
The Hornets won their seventh playoff game in six seasons under Jeff Wainwright.
Long overdue
Elton and Hamilton Christian ended long postseason win droughts.
Non-select Division IV No. 11 Elton came from behind to beat District 4-1A rival No. 22 Basile 22-18 for its first playoff win since 2017. Running back Tristan LeBlanc scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard run with 5:59 left in the game. He finished with 176 yards on 31 carries with three touchdowns, plus an interception on defense.
At Cougar Stadium, Select Division IV No. 10 Hamilton Christian beat No. 23 St. John 41-30 for its first postseason win since 2015 and extended its win streak to nine games.
Sophomore quarterback Javon Vital topped 100 rushing and passing yards for the sixth time with 200 rushing and 127 passing with four total touchdowns.
Overtime
Vinton ended up in an overtime game for the third time this season but came up short to No. 16 Montgomery, 42-40 in Non-select Division IV.
The Lions scored three times in the fourth quarter, including two short runs by Jaidon Briggs to take a 34-28 lead. But the Tigers had a fourth-quar- ter rally and stopped the Lions’ 2-point conversion attempt in overtime.
Briggs ran for 215 yards and four touchdowns.
Multi-role
Ryan Allen continues to show why he is one of the area’s top multi-position offensive players. He rushed for two touchdowns and caught a pair of rushing and two receiving touchdowns as Non-select Division III No. 13 Westlake blanked No. 20 Crowley 55-0.
Allen scored on a 46 and 38-yard reception in the first half and added a pair of rushing touchdowns in the third quarter on runs of 4 and 8 yards. He ran for 65 yards on 10 carries and caught four passes for 110 yards.
He has scored at least one rushing and receiving touchdown in six games.
