Jackrabbits end regular season with rout of Raiders

Lonoke's Chance Bronson and Lucas McKenzie block during the Jackrabbits' win over Riverview on Friday. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

LONOKE — The Lonoke Jackrabbits ended the 2014 regular season with a 48-16 win over the Riverview Raiders on Thursday at James B. Abraham Stadium. 

With the win — Lonoke's third in a row — the Jackrabbits clinch the fourth seed from the 4A-2 and a playoff game at Prairie Grove next week. 

"I'm real proud of the kids for finishing up the season strong, heading into the playoffs," said Lonoke coach Doug Bost, whose team is now 5-5 on the season. 

Lonoke reeled off 4 wins in its last 5 games to earn a spot in the Class 4A state playoffs. They included wins over Central Arkansas Christian and Stuttgart 

"Winning that last 4 of 5 was huge," Bost said. "We started off 0-2 in conference but, it's like we told them, there was still a lot of football left to play. We were able to win out after that. I'm real proud."

In the win over Riverview, Lonoke jumped out to an 18-0 lead after one quarter. Savonte Rountree threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Justin Meadows with 8:17 left. Caleb Bailey returned an interception 34 yards for a score and Meadows scored on a 29-yard run with a minute left.

Lonoke pushed its lead to 26-0 with 9:25 left in the first half. Josh Coleman scored on a 5-yard run then added the two-point conversion. 

Riverview had a chance to get on the board but turned the ball over on downs at the Lonoke 10. However, Lonoke was not able to move the ball and Riverview's Blake Edom blocked a Lonoke punt threw the goal post for a safety. 

Riverview's Bennie Watson then returned the free kick 60-yards for a touchdown with 4:34 left in the first half. Andrew Moore scored the two-point conversion to make the score 26-10. 

Lonoke responded late in the first half, driving 54 yards in 11 plays with Rountree throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Meadows with 10 seconds left, giving the Jackrabbits a 32-10 halftime lead.

The Jackrabbits led 40-10 with 6:34 left in the third quarter. Meadows scored on an 8-yard run then added the two-point conversion. 

Riverview scored again on an 83-yard touchdown pass from David Lee to Luke Hoofman with 3:19 left in the third quarter. 

The final points of the game came on a 78-yard touchdown pass from Rountree to Logan Dozier with 2:19 left in the third quarter. Meadows added the two-point conversion.
Rountree completed 11 of 18 passes for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns. Meadows and Bailey each caught 3 passes for 45 yards. Dozier caught 2 passes for 78 yards.
Meadows rushed for 76 yards on 12 carries. Coleman had 59 yards on 11 carries.
Devin Mosley and Chandler Elmore led Lonoke with 9 tackles each. Ethan Holland and Ricky Nichols had six tackles each. Bailey had five.

The Lonoke defense makes a stop against Riverview