NASHVILLE, Ark. - Nashville had to hold on until the final buzzer as the Scrappers knocked off defending Class 4A state champion Joe T. Robinson, 36-35, at Scrapper Stadium Friday night.
With Nashville clinging to a 36-35 lead with 33 seconds left in the game, a 34-yard field goal attempt from Robinson bounced off the left upright to seal the Scrappers' victory.
The Scrappers overcame a 35-20 second-half deficit thanks to their ground game. They rushed for 137 of their 353 yards in the final two periods.
Senior quarterback Ty Gordon gave Nashville a 36-35 lead with 8:21 left to play with a 3-yard touchdown run and his 2-point conversion run.
Gordon topped Nashville with 138 yards and 3 touchdowns on 29 carries. Keyshawn Stewart added 115 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and Dontrelle Robinson gained 112 yards on 5 carries and scored a TD.
Nashville head ccach Mike Volarvich said Gordon was instrumental in leading the Scrappers to the victory.
"Ty was a workhorse," Volarvich said. "He had 30 carries. Anyone who runs that much knows what that can do to your body. They were all tough carries, up through the A- and B-gap."
Volarvich said that the Scrappers were the more physical team in the second half.
"Our kids played extremely hard," Volarvich said. "We won the battle in the trenches. We were able to wear them down.
"We had three different players with over 100 rushing yards. We feel like we can throw it and run it. But last night, we were able to run the ball well."
Nashville avenged a 34-7 defeat at Robinson a year ago. But for Volarvich, that loss was not the driving factor for the Scrappers on Friday. It was simply about being better against the Senators.
"We knew we couldn't have the self-inflicted wounds," Volarvich said. "We really concentrated on not having those this week. We knew we had a good team. We had to limit the mistakes."
The Scrappers (4-1) lead the 7-4A Conference at 2-0. The Senators tumble to 3-3, 1-1. Volarvich didn't underestimate the magnitude of Friday's victory over Robinson, which finished 14-1 and won the Class 4A state title in 2019.
"It's a huge win," Volarvich said. "Especially this year, every conference win counts. We don't know if we will play next week or the week after. Nobody knows. But any conference win is super important."
Nashville is scheduled to travel to Ashdown (5-1, 1-1) on Friday. Malvern handed the Panthers their first loss of the season Friday, winning 32-7.
The Scrappers (2-0) and Malvern (4-2, 3-0) are the only unbeaten teams left in conference play. The Leopards travel to Robinson on Friday and then hit the road Oct. 30 to face Nashville.
DeKalb 35, Redwater 0
DEKALB, Texas - Running back Jamar Vaughn rushed for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns to power the host Bears to a shutout District 10-3A win over the Dragons.
Vaughn only carried the ball 11 times and scored on runs of 25 and 15 yards for DeKalb (6-2, 2-1). A.J. Burgin also scored on a 1-yard sneak and connected with Ty Olson for a 60-yard TD pass. Amar Love also scored on a 27-yard run and the Bears recorded a safety when defender Ramaj Vaughn, Jamar's twin, tackled a Redwater runner in the Dragons' end zone.
"Our whole defense is playing lights out," said DeKalb coach Buddy Griffin. "I think our defensive ends, Chris Betts and Amar Love, recorded a combined 22 tackles."
The Bears play at Paul Pewitt in another key district game this Friday. The Brahmas are playing their home games at Mount Pleasant's Parker Field because of COVID-19 concerns.
"We know they're good and they've got a lot of people back off last year's state finalist team," Griffin said. "We've got to play our game and we know nothing's going to be easy from here out."
Gladewater 42, Atlanta 27
GLADEWATER, Texas - Gladewater pulled away with two late third-quarter scores as the Bears defeated Atlanta.
Gladewater led 21-20 at halftime and then outscored the Rabbs 21-7 in the decisive third quarter.
Atlanta's first touchown came on Justin Pierce's 30-yard pass to Kameron Dickerson. Daniel Hernandez's PAT tied the score at 7-7.
The Rabbs' next score came on Keith Kinney's 5-yard TD run, and Hernandez's kicked tied the score at 14-all.
The Bears went up 21-14 befoer Hernandez's kicked a 24-yard goal to narrow the Rabbs' scoring deficit to 21-17.
Atlanta kicked a 17-yard field goal to close the gap to 21-20 Gladewater at intermission.
The Bears opened at 35-20 cushion before Atlanta scored on a 40-yard halfback pass. Hernandez's kick made teh score 35-27 with out 2 minutes to play in the third quarter.
Gladewater closed out the scoring on a 2-yard sneak to make the final score 42-27.
Detroit 32, Maud 26
DETROIT, Texas - The Cardinals played close in their district playoff, but still came up short.
The Cardinals' scores came on Tucker Sanders' 2-yard run, Cason Lamb's 2-yard and 3-yard runs, and Lamb's 65-yard pass to Landon Smith.
Maud finished with 341 yards of total offense while the Eagles had 380, all on the ground.
Both teams had three turnovers.
Tatum 56, New Boston 32
TATUM, Texas - Kyle Atkinson rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns, but the Lions dropped the decision to the Eagles.
Atkns scored on runs of 6, 74 and 4 yards for the Lions. Atkinson also passed for a 2-point conversion to Brian Ried.
New Boston's other touchdown cane on Angel Recendiz's interception return for a pick-6.
Tatum built a 28-18 halftime lead and blew the game open with a 21-0 third-quarter scoring spree.