Arkansas High's quest for a state championship remains alive and well.
The Razorbacks, coming off their first conference championship in 12 years, extended their memorable season with convincing 27-7 victory over fourth-seeded Nettleton on Friday night at Razorback Stadium.
"This was one of my favorite games of the year," Arkansas High coach Barry Norton said. "If you look at the score, you can credit all of the team elements that we have worked so hard on all year. We had great defensive stands, great returns, and we did very well at passing the ball and rushing.
"Our offense capitalized off the turnovers the defense caused. Also, our kickoff coverage pinned them back deep every time, and we did a tremendous job managing the field position."
Cameron Collier ran wild for the Hogs again, finishing with a career-high 248 yards and a touchdown on 29 attempts. The senior running back also caught two passes for 38 yards and a score.
Arkansas High (10-1, 7-0) tallied 343 yards of offense while its defense allowed just 182 yards-117 of those coming in the second half with the visitors trailing 27-0. The defense also forced four turnovers, including two fumble recoveries in the final 13 seconds of the first half. Larry Jefferson and Tyrie Black each recovered a fumble and DeJordan Mask intercepted a pass in the end zone.
"The offensive line has been a strength of our football team all season long," Norton said. "They're together all the time, in practice and wherever, and they have done a tremendous job for us.
"I tell them all the time, 'We are leaning on you.' We know we're going to run, they know we're going to run, and everyone we play knows we are going to run the ball. So for them to come in here night in and night out and do what they do, I am very proud of them."
Collier helped the Razorbacks put up the first points of the game in the first quarter when he found the end zone on an 18-yard play. Returner extraordinaire Mask helped set up the score with a 32-yard punt return to put the Hogs in the red zone.
On the ensuing drive, Larry Jefferson recovered a fumble and the Hogs would later score when quarterback Sean Foreback found Collier on a 32-yard catch-and-run to give the home team an early 14-0 lead.
With just 26 seconds left in the first half, Arkansas High found a way to score two more times in those few ticks.
Black recovered a fumble and Foreback turned it into points when he threw up a pass that Mask came down with in the back of the end zone with 12 seconds left.
On the Raiders' kickoff return, they fumbled with 2 seconds left and Foreback once again found Mask for a 28-yard touchdown. Mask hauled in a team-high 44 yards on three catches, including his two touchdown grabs.
Arkansas High's Foreback completed 7 of 11 passes and had three scores.
"We went into this ballgame knowing if we didn't do anything wrong, they were going to have a hard time scoring points," Norton said. "We were really conservative and patient with what we were doing, exactly like we set out during our meetings throughout the week."
The Raiders' lone score came in the fourth quarter when quarterback Cade Carter found his receiver in the end zone on an 8-yard pass. Carter completed 11 of 19 passes for 127 yards.
With the win, Arkansas High (10-1, 7-0) advances to the second round and will host Little Rock Christian, which eliminated Greenbrier, 63-26.
"Little Rock Christian has a really great football team," Norton said. "They have won a lot of games over the past few years, and this will be a great challenge for us. We will have them at home, which is an advantage for us, and we will need a great crowd to come out and support us to help make it a wonderful Friday night."
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Nettleton 0 0 0 7 - 7
Arkansas High 7 20 0 0 - 27
First Quarter
AHS-Cameron Collier 18 run (Patrick Cook kick), 1:50.
Second Quarter
AHS-Collier 32 pass from Sean Foreback (Cook kick), 8:44.
AHS-DeJordan Mask 7 pass from Foreback (Cook kick), 0:26.
AHS-Mask 28 pass from Foreback (kick failed), 0:07.
Fourth Quarter
NET-No. 40 8 pass from Cade Carter (kick good), 8:04.
=Nettleton=Arkansas High
First Downs=10=13
Yards Rushing=31-56=34-250
Yards Passing=127=93
Passes A-C-I=20-11-1=11-7-0
Fumbles-Lost=3-3=1-1
Penalties=4-25=6-80
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Nettleton, Damien Phillips 11-11, Terrell Rogers 2-6, Cade Carter 3-(minus-10), Marshon Lane 7-21, Marcus Isom 8-28. Arkansas High, Cameron Collier 29-248, Torie Blair 3-6, Sean Foreback 1-2, DeJordan Mask 1-(minus-6).
PASSING-Nettleton, Carter 11-19-0, Terrell Rogers 0-1-1. Arkansas High, Foreback 7-11-0.
RECEIVING-Nettleton, No. 40 3-37, Rogers 3-33, Kevin Seals 1-(minus-1), Isom 3-38, Lane 2-10. Arkansas High, Drake Browning 1-10, Collier 2-38, Mask 3-44, Blair 1-1.