Pointers turn in complete performance in win

The Pointers enjoyed the spoils of victory on Friday with an epic performance in all three phases in their 52-13 win over Rogers in the 7A-West opener. The offense scored on its first seven possessions of the game, the defense added a touchdown and limited the top passing team in the conference to one score through three quarters, and the kicking teams added 10 points and forced Rogers into a long field all night. “It was definitely the most complete game we’ve played,” Van Buren head coach Crosby Tuck said. “You look at all three phases of the game, we were pretty sharp. We were a lot more consistent throughout the entire game with every unit. That was really nice to see.” Kicker Chris Flores was perfect in seven extra-point attempts, added a 33-yard field goal, boomed three kickoffs into the end zone and forced Rogers into an average drive start of its own 23 on its first nine possessions. “Being able to give our defense that kind of field position is a huge help from the kicking game and from us not turning the ball over,” Tuck said. “Making teams drive it 70 and 80 yards certainly works to our favor.” Quarterback Gary Phillips threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns, including 23 and 78 yards to Maury Newton, and 1 yard to Isaac Nason, and ran five times for 109 yards and two scores. Phillips had a 60-yard scoring run in the third quarter, faking the handoff to running back Brayden Rivas and keeping right up the middle for the touchdown. The defense limited the top passing quarterback in the conference to just 11 completions in 26 attempts for 86 yards. Van Buren had two key defensive series early. After Van Buren took a 7-0 lead, Rogers drove to Van Buren’s 14. On second down, Baylor Shook snuffed out a screen pass for a loss of a yard. On third down, R.J. Riley stonewalled a runner for another loss of a yard on a run. Rogers turned the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass on fourth down. Then, with Van Buren up, 21-0, Rogers had a fourth-and-one situation at its own 39. Cha’Raun Page stopped a run for no gain, which forced another turnover on downs. Phillips ran 22 yards for a touchdown five plays later to push Van Buren up, 28-0. Drew King and Devin Swearingen were each in on 10 tackles. Trent Ball had nine tackles. Swearingen had a fumble recovery and a tackle for loss. Page had six quarterback hurries and a tackle for loss. The win marked the most points scored and the largest margin of victory in a conference game since a 54-14 win over Russellville in 2010. The 39-point win was the largest margin of victory over a Class 7A team since beating Little Rock Fair, 41-0, to open the playoffs in 1996. The 53 points are the most ever by the Pointers over a team in the state’s largest classification. Van Buren travels to Bentonville on Friday.

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POINTERS TURN IN COMPLETE PERFORMANCE IN WIN

LELAND BARCLAY

Times Record | 10/3/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D. Sanderford