Jackrabbits come up short against Star City in opener

Lonoke's Trey Bevis [28] and Chandler Elmore make a tackle against Star City. (Photo by Scott Ward, KOESPORTS.COM)

By Mark Buffalo 

and Larry Cash

Staff Writers

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

LONOKE — In a seesaw affair, Lonoke wasn't able to pull off a victory as the Star City Bulldogs beat the Jackrabbits 31-18 in the season opener Friday night at James B. Abraham Stadium.

Star City led 3-0 on a 26-yard field goal by Eric Estavon with 6:43 left in the first quarter.

Star City pushed its lead to 9-0 on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Blake Brown to Blake Wynn with 4:55 left in the first quarter.

Lonoke got on the board when Savonte Rountree threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Chandler Elmore with 2:16 left in the first quarter. The extra point was no good, leaving the score at 9-6.

The Jackrabbits took a 12-9 lead with 8:59 left in the first half on a 4-yard run by Rountree. The extra point was no good. 

Lonoke got the ball back after an Ethan Holland interception but could not score.

Star City took a 16-12 lead on a 4-yard run by Darren Chaney with 35.8 seconds left in the first half.

Lonoke reclaimed the lead when Justin Meadows returned the second half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was no good, leaving the score at 18-16.

Star City took a 24-18 lead when the Bulldogs recovered a Lonoke fumble and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown with 6:25 left in the third quarter. 

The Bulldogs added to their lead with a 7-yard touchdown run by Duwan Harris with 1:25 left in the third quarter.

Rountree completed 4 of 13 passes for 79 yards. He rushed 13 times for 97 yards.

Josh Coleman had 29 yards on seven carries. 

Elmore caught 2 passes for 38 yards. 

Lonoke had 224 yards in total offense.

Star City had 368 yards in total offense. The Bulldogs had 201 yards passing and 167 yards rushing.

Holland led Lonoke with 10 tackles. He also had an interception and a fumble recovery.

Elmore had nine tackles. Caleb Bailey had eight. Braylon Bryant and Lance Dugger had six tackles each.

Lonoke will travel to Beebe to take on the Badgers this Friday at Bro. Erwin Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Badgers are coming off a 48-29 loss to Greenbrier in the season opener last week at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. 

Josh Coleman takes a handoff from quarterback Savonte Rountree (Photo by Scott Ward, KOESPORTS.COM)