MAGNOLIA, Ark.-Despite another day of rainy conditions, Mother Nature couldn't stop Arkansas High this time.
And neither could Magnolia.
In a game that was rescheduled because of bad weather the night before, the Razorbacks dominated in all three phases and took an emphatic 41-7 victory over unbeaten Magnolia in both teams' Conference 5A-South opener on Saturday afternoon at Panther Stadium.
After coming out of halftime holding only a 14-0 lead, Arkansas High kicked it up a notch in the second half and ran wild to invoke the mercy rule.
Torie Blair took the opening second-half kickoff 76 yards to the house. Later in the third quarter, the sophomore running back turned a 5-yard loss into a 23-yard scamper for his second touchdown of the game. He finished with four touchdowns-three rushing-and 112 yards on the ground on just nine totes.
"Blair really showed up for us today," Arkansas High head coach Barry Norton said. "He's such a great player. Right now, offensively, we are trying to get him rolling along with the others. We have worked with him a lot, but now that he knows he can go out there and do it, he will be ready going forward."
Arkansas High (3-1, 1-0) held the Panthers to just 113 yards of total offense while pilling on 358 of their own. And not just offensively did the Hogs show out, but the special teams also put points on the board with Blair's kick return and Irijah Price's punt return.
"Special teams was huge for us today," Norton said. "Our loss to Texas High came down to our special teams and kick coverage, point blank. But tonight, I thought we cleaned up a lot of that and our kicks were good, the coverages were good and we had some great returns. For the most part, it just comes down to getting our skill guys the ball in their hands and let them do the work."
Magnolia (3-1, 0-1), on the other hand, struggled to find its identity for most of the contest. The Panthers had 10 different players rush the ball, but could only manage 105 yards on 39 attempts-a mere 2.7 yards per attempt.
"Defensively, I thought we came in and had a great gameplan on stopping their triple option. The coaches had great plans and the kids executed very well against it."
The Razorbacks got on the scoreboard first late in the first quarter when quarterback Sean Foreback found Cameron Collier on a screen pass that went 47 yards to paydirt.
After forcing a three-and-out, Arkansas High fed Collier again. The senior running back found a hole and rushed 37 yards, but fumbled on the next snap to give it back to Magnolia. With the defense forcing the Panthers to punt again on their second straight three-and-out, Irijah Price demonstrated his great vision and returned it to the house for an untouched 65-yard touchdown.
Collier, who played mostly in the first half, finished with 113 yards on 10 attempts and caught two passes for 55 yards and a score.
On their next possession, the Razorbacks picked up where they left off and got two big plays from Blair and Price. Facing a first-and-long after a couple of penalties, Blair darted up the sideline for 30 yards to get the Hogs back to their original line of scrimmage.
On the next play, Price caught a 36-yard dart from Foreback as time dwindled down in the second quarter, but all would be for naught as they missed a field goal to go into halftime.
After Blair's second-half opening kick return and a Magnolia fumble, a Collier 30-yard rush and a pass interference call on a throw to DeJordan Mask would set up Drake Browning for his first touchdown reception since coming back from an injury. Foreback connected with Browning on an 18-yard strike to help the Razorbacks take a comfortable 28-0 lead.
The Panthers would fumble again on their next drive and, once again, Arkansas High turned that into points.
Blair, whose jersey was still bright white despite the field conditions, would not be denied on another long touchdown run-this time a 23-yarder to the end zone. His last score would come in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter to force the mercy rule.
Despite the rain, Foreback did find some success through the air as he finished with 133 yards on 8-of-17 passing, one touchdown and one interception.
"With the way the weather was today, it hurt our passing game some," Norton said. "We still had some nice plays, but (Magnolia) defended us a little different that we saw on tape, which was probably because of the weather. But it's just one of those things; throwing a wet ball is hard to do.
"Overall, however, I thought all of our kids done a really great job and I'm proud of them."
Arkansas High 7 7 20 7 - 41
Magnolia 0 0 0 7 - 7
First Quarter
AHS-Cameron Collier 47 pass from Sean Foreback (Patrick Cook kick), :45
Second Quarter
AHS-Irijah Price 65 punt return (Cook kick), 6:08
Third Quarter
AHS-Torie Blair 76 kick return (Cook kick), 11:46
AHS-Drake Browning 18 pass from Foreback (kick failed), 8:33
AHS-Blair 23 run (Cook kick), 8:03
Fourth Quarter
AHS-Blair 2 run (Cook kick), 11:54
MHS-Terry Lambert 2 run (kick good), 3:20
AHS Magnolia
First Downs 12 9
Yards Rushing 225 105
Yards Passing 133 8
Passes A-C-I 17-8-1 6-1-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-2
Penalties 10-95 5-45
Punts-Avg. 1-40.0 4-30.0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Arkansas High, Collier 10-113, Foreback 2-0, Blair 9-112. Magnolia, Demarco Walker 9-12, Braelyn Beasley 8-21, No. 3 1-3, Lambert 4-12, James'darius Smith 1-4, Amir Cooper 1-2, Javorrea Murphy 5-8, Cameron Warren 3-1, Octavius Smith 3-19, Sidtraveous Hampton 2-12
PASSING-Arkansas High, Foreback 8-17-1 133. Magnolia, Beasley 1-6-0 8.
RECEIVING-Arkansas High, DeJordan Mask 2-15, Irijah Price 2-38, Collier 2-55, Drake Browning 2-35. Magnolia, Cooper 1-8.