GRIZZLIES FALL TO CENTRAL IN WILD GAME, 42-35

Despite being shorthanded going into Friday’s game, Northside’s offense was able to move the ball and make some big plays. However, two second-half turnovers proved to be costly, as those set up two Little Rock Central touchdowns as the Tigers rallied in the second half to go in front. Central then held off a late Grizzly rally to pull out a 42-35 win in 7A-Central action at Mayo-Thompson Stadium. Northside was without its starting quarterback, Drey Norwood, and receiver Jackson King, both of whom were out with injuries. But the Grizzlies’ new signal-caller, senior Matt Hollenbeck, threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns. However, with Central trailing by seven points in the third quarter and Northside driving, the Tigers got an interception and it set up a touchdown to tie it at 28-all. Then late in the third quarter, Northside fumbled the ball right back to the Tigers, who needed seven plays to reach the end zone, as quarterback Lawson Gunn found tight end Bobbi Broadway in the end zone for an 11-yard TD with 9:51 left, giving Central (4-1, 1-1) a 35-28 lead. Central forced a punt on the next possession and extended the lead minutes later when tailback Samuel Franklin rambled in from 50 yards out. Franklin finished the game with 142 yards on 29 carries. Northside (2-3, 0-2) answered moments later when Hollenbeck connected with receiver Tyheen Prosise from 50 yards out with 4:50 remaining. Slate Stanton’s PAT cut it to seven points. The Grizzlies then forced a three-and-out and got the ball back on a punt. Northside was able to reach inside the Central 35 but turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth down with 48 seconds left. Hollenbeck finished the game completing 16-of-21 passes for 273 yards and four TDs. Prosise had eight catches for 174 yards and two TDs, including a 58-yard catch-and-run early in the second half to give Northside a 28-21 lead, and also added a rushing TD. Also for the Grizzlies, J.T. Thorne caught five passes for 73 yards and two TDs, while Seth Fields had 50 yards rushing on 14 carries. Gunn threw for 260 yards. T.J. Pennington hauled in 10 passes for 159 yards. The Tigers took the opening kickoff and scored in less than two minutes, taking a 7-0 lead. But Northside answered on its initial series, going 65 yards in seven plays to even the score. On a third-and-long at the Central 17, Prosise took a sweep around the left side and darted down the sideline for the Grizzly TD. Dagon Moore came on to kick the PAT, as the Grizzlies tied it at 7-all. Then, the Grizzlies forced a punt on Central’s next series. Northside went right back down the field, going 70 yards in six plays to go in front. Win $100K in Arkansas! Ad By Arkansas Lottery See More Hollenbeck connected on a 17-yard pass in the left flat to Thorne. Thorne shook off a defender and went in for the touchdown. Stanton added the PAT for a 14-7 Grizzly lead with less than four minutes in the opening quarter. Later that quarter, Central had a drive going, but Northside defensive back Montay Parks stopped it by picking off a pass inside his own 20. Hollenbeck and Thorne hooked up for the second TD of the night early in the second quarter. On a third-and-8 from the Tiger 39, Hollenbeck tossed it to Thorne near the 25, and Thorne eluded a bevy of Central defenders and took it in for the six-pointer. Stanton’s PAT made it 21-7 with 9:11 remaining in the first half. But Central answered with two TDs before halftime to tie the score at 21-all.

Little Rock School District Athletics

GRIZZLIES FALL TO CENTRAL IN WILD GAME, 42-35

Photo Credit: Brian D. Sanderford