THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

Sophomore Brandon Thomas ran for three touchdowns Friday night to help spoil Brad Bolding’s return to North Little Rock. Thomas ran 17 times for 124 yards and scored on runs of 29, 2 and 1 yards as the Charging Wildcats survived for a 29-20 victory over Little Rock Parkview. “He’s a very special player,” North Little Rock Coach Jamie Mitchell said. “We knew we had a great one in him. Boy, is he going to be a really, really great football player. He’s a power runner.” North Little Rock (3-0) outgained Parkview 411-286 and held the ball for seven minutes more than the Patriots, but Parkview (1-2) did not fade until the final six minutes. North Little Rock grabbed a 21-14 lead with 11:39 left on Thomas’ 2-yard run, but Parkview countered with an 8-play, 38-yard drive that ended with Tyrell Hadley’s 8-yard scoring run. The Charging Wildcats stayed in front when a high snap led to a missed conversion attempt with 8:54 to play. Parkview forced North Little Rock to punt on the ensuing drive, but the Patriots fumbled on its first play, allowing North Little Rock to take over at the Parkview 6. Thomas scored three plays later and David Chapple’s two-point conversion pass to Andrew Martin with 5:51 to play put a cap on the scoring. Parkview’s final possession ended with 4:55 to play with sophomore safety David Smith’s interception. Hadley, a 5-7 senior, rushed 6 times for 74 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Patriots. Junior quarterback Geary Allmon completed 7 of 15 passes for 137 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown pass off a double-reverse play to senior Joe Howard. Bolding, who compiled a 63-30 record as North Little Rock’s head coach from 2007 to 2014, was making his first return trip to his former school. “Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal to me,” said Bolding, who is in his first year as Parkview’s head coach. “I’m over all that stuff. It’s all good, and everyone was nice to me.” North Little Rock led 14-7 at the half and drove to inside the Parkview 25 on the second half’s opening drive. But after a 51-yard field-goal attempt failed, the Patriots responded with a four-play, 80-yard drive. Howard, who caught five passes for a game-high 99 yards, hauled in a 30-yard pass to set the Patriots on the 35. Two plays later, Hadley ran in from the 31. Juan Augilar’s extra point with 5:58 left in the third quarter tied the game at 14-14. “When you talk about numbers and us playing a 7A team and we’re 5A, well, I’m proud of our guys,” Bolding said. “That’s a good football team we just played and we learned a lot. You learn what your weaknesses are. We learned what we’ve got to do to get ready for the conference.” North Little Rock lost two fumbles in the first half, both after completed passes. The Charging Wildcats also hurt themselves with 137 yards of penalties. “Penalties kept killing our drives,” Mitchell said. “I thought defensively we played exceptionally well. I thought our kids stayed in the fight, but we’ve got to be cleaner on offense. You can’t turn the football over.” Junior fullback Tyler Day added 93 yards on 11 carries for North Little Rock. Chapple was 10 of 18 passing for 130 yards and he also scored on an 11-yard run with 6:52 left before halftime. Senior kicker Savannah Melton made all three of her extra-point kicks.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

7A ’CATS FINALLY SHAKE 5A PATRIOTS

TOM COOPER

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 9/17/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Mitchell PE Masilun