LUKE REEDER
Sports Reporter
WARREN – Friday night
the Nashville Scrapper football
team traveled to Warren
to face the defending 4A
State Champions. The Lumberjacks
and the Scrappers
are longtime rivals and have
faced off in two state title
games that Nashville was
able to win. On Friday the
Scrappers overcame a mistake
riddled first half to win
42-37 in a come-from-behind
fashion in the second half.
The first quarter set
the game up to be a close
matchup. Nashville struck
first with a two yard touchdown
run from Darius Hopkins
with 8:51 to play in the
quarter. Four minutes later
after Nashville’s quarterback
Leonard Snell threw
an interception the Scrapper
defense was able to hold
Warren to just a field goal to
make the game 7-3. With 3:10
to play in the first quarter
Hopkins took the ball again
for a touchdown run and this
time from 27 yards out to
build Nashville’s lead to 14-3.
But on the next Lumberjack
drive just twenty seconds
later, Warren was able to
complete a 69 yard pass for
a touchdown and this cut the
Scrapper lead to just three
points going into the second
quarter of play.
In the second quarter the
Lumberjacks took control
of the game and the lead.
Warren was able to score
twice in the second quarter
and the Nashville offense
was stopped dead in their
tracks. With 10:05 left to
play in the second Warren
was able to break free for a
61 yard touchdown run
and with 3:01 left until halftime
they scored their second
touchdown of the half
on a one yard run. This gave
the Lumberjacks a 24-14 lead over Nashville as the two teams
went into the locker rooms for halftime.
The first half for Nashville was riddled with mistakes offensively.
The Scrappers lost two fumbles to Warren in the
first half and Snell threw three interceptions in the first two
quarters. Because of the five turnovers Nashville was behind
at halftime for the first time in the playoffs.
After the half, the Scrapper offense seemed to have a new
breath of life along with the defense that held the Lumberjacks
to no points in the third quarter. Less than five minutes
into the third quarter Nashville got its first score of the second
half as Snell connected to Ty Pettway for 60 yards and
a touchdown. This score brought Nashville to within three
points of the defending state champions. With 3:43 left to play
in the quarter Nashville regained the lead for the first time
since early in the second quarter. Terrell Grundy was able to
muscle his way into the end zone on a one yard touchdown
run. Nashville now had a 28-24 lead that they never gave
up for the rest of the game. Just 18 seconds before the final
quarter, Hopkins was able to extend that lead to 35-24 after
a four yard touchdown run to end the quarter on.
In the final quarter of play Warren begin to mount a
comeback but it ended up being too little too late. Nashville
scored their last touchdown of the game with 6:06 left to
play in the game as Grundy got his second touchdown run
of the game from eight yards out this go around. This gave
Nashville a 42-24 lead, but in the coming minutes Warren
would come within one touchdown of that lead. After the
Grundy touchdown, Warren was able to take the ensuing
kickoff 95 yards to make it 42-31. Warren got its final score
of the game with 1:40 left to play on a 22 yard touchdown
pass, but the Lumberjacks were unable to convert on the
two point conversion attempt. The Lumberjacks looked to
be in a onside kick situation but instead opted to kick the
ball over Nashville’s onside kick return formation and into
the end zone. With just over a minute and a half to play,
Nashville was able to takes a few kneels and run the clock off.
The Scrapper defense was one to marvel at in the game
as Billy Stewart gained his 20th sack of the season to break
the 4A state sack record for a season.
On the offensive side of the ball Snell was able to complete
four of ten passes for 124 yards and one touchdown.
Snell also led the team in rushing yards with 114 yards on
18 carries. Hopkins followed with 87 yards on 21 carries and
three touchdowns. Pettway had a breakthrough game in the
receiver position as he caught three catches for 111 yards
and one went for a touchdown.
Even with a five turnover half, the Scrappers were able to
come back strong in the second half to prevail over the tough
Lumberjacks, “I had to get mad, we didn’t have a great week
of practice with Thanksgiving break we had kids scattered
from Nashville to Texarkana so it was hard to get them there
(practice) and it was a distraction. Turning the ball over five
times in the first half, it is hard to win like that,” Head Coach
Mike Volarvich explained. But the Scrappers found a way
to overcome their tough first half and now move onto the
semifinals to face Pea Ridge at home Friday night.
