Russellville rallies to down Blue Devils
Cylones end West Memphis’ season in back-and-forth affair
By THE TIMES SPORTS STAFF
theeveningtimes.com
In a back and forth battle that saw the lead change hands six times in the second half, the Russellville Cyclones scored the final touchdown of the night and held off a late drive by the West Memphis Blue Devils to post a 30-26 victory Friday night on Hamilton-Schultz Field in the opening round of the Class 6A State Playoffs.
The Blue Devils (6-5) struck first, taking the opening kickoff then drove 80 yards in 13 plays with quarterback Keland Mills scoring the touchdown from a yard out at the 8:26 mark in the first quarter. West Memphis missed the extra point but led 6-0.
The Cyclones then drove 51 yards on nine plays and had to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Eli Stratton to cut the gap to 6-3 at the 4:58 mark. The Blue Devils then scored their second touchdown when Mills tossed a 19-yard pass to Dylan Greer for the score at the 2:02 mark. The PAT was blocked by Russellville’s Reece Culwell to leave the score at 12-10.
There was enough time left in the opening stanza for the Cyclones score its first touchdown of the night as they drive 63 yards in just two plays. After losing a yard on the first play, quarterback Luke Jones threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Ben Haulmark with 1:23 left in the first quarter. Stratton booted the extra point to pull the Cyclones within 12-10, which was the score at intermission as both teams failed to score in the second quarter.
Russellville took its first lead of the night by starting the second half with a 66yard scoring drive on just two plays. After a loss on the first play from scrimmage, junior tailback Tracy Daniels scampered 73 yards for his first touchdown of the night. Stratton’s extra point put Russellville up 17-12 with 11:07 left in the third quarter.
West Memphis countered with a 70-yard scoring drive, needing 10 plays and 3:44 off the clock before CylonYoung scored a 5-yard touchdown at the 7:23 mark. The attempt for the 2-point conversion failed but the Blue Devils led 18-17.
Daniels scored his second touchdown of the second half, capping an 84-yard scoring drive with a 5-yard run to the end zone with 7:58 left in the contest. The Cyclones could not convert the 2-point conversion but led 23-18.
The Blue Devils ran the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown only for it to be called back on a penalty. However, West Memphis still got the touchdown as on the next play from scrimmage Mills broke free for a 90-yard run to the end zone. Jeremiah McGruder ran in the 2-point conversion and the Blue Devils led 26-23 with 7:26 left to play.
The Cyclones then had their longest sustained drive of the night, driving 65 yards on 14 plays that ate 6:49 off the clock. Daniels capped the drive with is third second-half touchdown on a 1-yard dive with just 37 seconds left, Stratton’s PAT made it 30-26.
The Blue Devils had enough time to drive down to the Russellville 20 but got no further as time ran out.
Russellville finished with 417 yards of total offense with 302 of those coming on the ground. Daniels finished with 26 carries for 202 yards to go with his three touchdowns. Haulmark, one of three players to line up at quarterback for the Cyclones, finished with 70 yards on 10 carries with a long of 53 yards. Jones completed 5 of 7 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. D.A. Reed completed 1 of 4 passes for 12 yards. Haulmark caught two passes for 72 yards and Cayden Rose caught two for 19 yards.
West Memphis finished with 445 total yards. Mills ran 17 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns while completing 7 of 14 passes for 105 yards and a score. Mc-Gruder ran 22 times for 122 yards.
Russellville advances to the quarterfinals this Friday and will take on 6A-West Conference champ Greenwood at Smith-Robinson Stadium.
The West Memphis Blue Devils came up short in their playoff game with the Russellville Cyclones. The loss puts a cap on the Devils’ 2022 season.
Photo courtesy of WMSD
