Jackrabbits clinch playoff spot with rout of Ricebirds

Lonoke's Josh Coleman scores for the Jackrabbits against Stuttgart. (Photo by Scott Ward/KOESPORTS.COM)

STUTTGART — Once again, the Lonoke Jackrabbits have a made a late-season push to earn a spot in the Class 4A state playoffs. 

Lonoke shut out Stuttgart 28-0 at Burkle Field on Friday night. With the win, Lonoke is now 4-5 overall and 3-3 in 4A-2 league play with one game remaining. Lonoke is tied with both Central Arkansas Christian and Stuttgart at 3-3 but Lonoke swept both teams. 

After a scoreless first quarter, Lonoke got on the board with 10:56 left in the first half on a  31-yard run by Savonte Rountree. Josh Coleman, lining up at the wildcat position, took the direct snap and scored the two-point conversion to give Lonoke an 8-0 lead.

Lonoke pushed its lead to 14-0 when Rountree scored on a 34-yard run with 7:39 left in the third quarter. 

Lonoke scored again in the third quarter on a 7-yard run by Coleman with 4:35 left. He also scored the two-point conversion to make the score 22-0. 

Devin Mosley scored the Jackrabbits' final touchdown on a 3-yard run with 8:22 left in the game.

Justin Meadows led Lonoke with 181 yards rushing on 23 carries. Rountree had 91 yards on 11 carries. He also completed 3 of 6 passes for 37 yards. 

Coleman had 50 yards rushing on 19 carries. He caught 2 passes for 14 yards. Caleb Bailey caught one pass for 23 yards.

The Jackrabbits held the Ricebirds to 109 yards in total offense — 81 yards passing and 28 yards rushing. 

Trey Bevis led Lonoke with 17 tackles. Mosley had 13. Gabe Rooney had 9. Dylan Goforth, Ricky Nichols and Chandler Elmore had 8 tackles each. 

Lonoke will host the Riverview Raiders on Thursday in the regular-season finale. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at James B. Abraham Stadium.