Blue Devils drop Jonesboro with first loss

Blue Devils drop Jonesboro with first loss

West Memphis back in league title hunt

WM School District As the ball spiraled through the air out of Amaurius Stinnett's right arm, it was apparent that only one player on the field had a chance to catch it.

Senior Jonathan Craig dived just inside the pylon in the south end zone of Hamilton-Shultz Field and hauled it in.

And just like that the West Memphis Blue Devils had stunned the previously unbeaten Jonesboro Hurricane.

Just like that it propelled the team into a four-way tie for first place in the 6AEast Conference.

And just like that delirium was the order of the day as raucous Blue Devil fans, players and coaches celebrated on the field for several minutes after Stinnett's 19-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game gave West Memphis

Photo by Billy Woods a 40-38 victory over Jonesboro.

'It's just so amazing,' shouted an elated Craig, seconds after the game.

'Everything's just rushing through my body right now.'

The Blue Devils (5-2 overall, 3-1 in the conference) pieced together a 68-yard winning drive with just over a minute left and zero timeouts.

The hosts got their opportunity after turning it over inside two minutes and then holding Jonesboro (61, 3-1) to fourth down and four on the Blue Devil 25.

Hurricane head coach Randy Coleman elected to throw a pass in the end zone, where he figured the worst that could happen was an interception that would have brought it out to the West Memphis 20.

West Memphis' Kyren Todd did intercept it in the end zone, but he was able to return it to his own 32.

Later, on fourth and four from the Blue Devil 38, Stinnett targeted Marcus Whittaker with a pass, but the Hurricane was called for a key pass interference, giving the Blue Devils a first down at the Jonesboro 48.

With the Blue Devils facing fourth down from the 19 and six seconds to play, Coleman called timeout.

'We told Craig to make sure he got into the end zone,' Elmore explained.

'Fortunately for us, Jonesboro called timeout to set its defense, but that also gave us a chance to set up a play. Normally on that route, Craig wouldn't have gotten into the end zone.'

Stinnett had connected with Craig once before in the winning drive for a 13yard gain.

'Craig had been open all night,' Stinnett explained.

'I just threw to where I thought he'd be running. I think Jonesboro had been so focused on stopping (Steven) Stone that they just left Craig open late in the game.'

The game was not boring for one minute.

Jonesboro took a 21-14 lead into the lockers at halftime and held a 24-20 lead late in the third quarter when the Blue Devils swung the game their way.

Senior Brian Glasper recorded the second of three interceptions off Jonesboro quarterback Tyson Williams. The ball was tipped by Todd around the West Memphis 10 and Glasper dived to make the pick at the 3.

Enjoying his finest moments as a Blue Devil since taking over the starting QB job this season, Stinnett made it happen with his legs and his arm.

He connected with Stone for a 36-yard pass to get the offense out of a hole and that was followed with another Stinnett-Stone hook-up for another 27 yards.

Four plays later on fourth down and less than a yard to go, Stinnett, who completed 12 of 23 passes for 205 yards, squirmed his way into the end zone for a touchdown giving his team its first lead of the night at 27-24.

'Honestly, I think at halftime we knew we could win this game,' said Elmore. 'But Stinnett's touchdown gave us a shot of energy.'

Despite giving up 38 points, the Blue Devil defense did its job, holding the Hurricane offense 16 points under its average this season.

Jonesboro's big gun, wide receiver Jonathan Adams, an Arkansas State commit, registered only two plays for 20 yards or more.

In the first half he was targeted five times and he made only two receptions for a mere 30 yards. He finished the night with 7 receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown in which he outwrestled defender Rayshaad Hall for the ball in the end zone.

Other than that one play, Hall covered Adams like a blanket.

'Rayshaad is a lock-down defender,' Elmore said.

'We told him all week, 'What an opportunity for you this week. What an opportunity to get your name out there.' He responded big time.'

Another overlooked West Memphis hero was senior running back Devonte Dean, who rushed for 83 of his game-high 132 yards in the first half.

In fact, Dean outrushed the entire Jonesboro offense 132-116.

The Blue Devils would not have gotten their chance at the miraculous winning drive had Elmore not saved all his timeouts for the final minute-and-a-half. When Jonesboro's Logan Orr intercepted Stinnett with just over 1:30 remaining, Elmore refused to let his offense sulk as it was walking back to the sideline.

'I told (the offense) we've got all of our timeouts left and we were going to get the ball back,' Elmore stated. 'And I counted on Jonesboro being a little conservative with the playcalling.'

Elmore used all three of his timeouts before Jonesboro faced that fateful fourth-down play that resulted in Todd's interception in the end zone.

By Billy Woods