Jackrabbits pull away from Bison in season opener

Lonoke's Isaac Toney, right, defends against Carlisle's Brynden Weems during the season-opener for both teams Tuesday night. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

CARLISLE — The Lonoke Jackrabbits pulled away from the Carlisle Bison for a 76-51 win Tuesday night at Bison Arena.

The game was the season opener for both squads. 

The first quarter was close throughout with Carlisle leading 15-14 after the first eight minutes. Lonoke's Kylan Branscomb scored sixth of his team's 14 points. Carlisle's Devon Kendrick scored five of his team's 15 points. 

Lonoke outscored Carlisle 16-11 in the second quarter to lead 30-26 at halftime. Lonoke's Michael Kelly, playing his first basketball game, scored six of the Jackrabbits' 16 points. Carlisle's Demarcus Houston scored four Bison points in the second quarter.

Lonoke started to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the Bison 25-14 to lead 55-40 heading into the fourth quarter. Lonoke's Bryson Jackson scored 10 of his team's points. Houston scored five points for the Bison in the third quarter 

Jackson led Lonoke with 15 points. Branscom had 14. Isaac Toney had 13. Kelly had 12. Haven Hunter and Tyler Spencer had 7 points each. Jawaun Bryant  had 5. Yancy Cooney had 2. Jayden Johnson added a free throw. 

Kendrick led the Bison with 14 points. Houston had 11. Jamarious Harper and Brynden Weems had 6 points each. Ty Golleher had 4. Drake Adams and Zach Caviness had 3 points each.  Garnell Harris, Jalen Kirk, Gray Amaden and Shawn Wakefield had 1 point each.

Lady Jackrabbits open season with win over DeWitt

Lonoke's Jarrelyn McCall makes a move up the floor against e-Stem last season. McCall had 14 points in her team's season-opening win over DeWitt last week. 

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

DEWITT — The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with a 46-32 win over the DeWitt Dragonettes last week.

Lonoke led 12-11 after one quarter. The score was tied 20-20 at halftime.

The Lady Jackrabbits outscored DeWitt 13-5 in the third quarter to get control of the game. Kaley Woodruff and Keiunna Walker each scored four points in the period. Ashlyn Allen added three. Jarrelyn McCall had two. 

McCall and Walker led Lonoke with 14 points each. Allen had five. Woodruff and Mickenzie Williams had four points each. Kennedy White and Arian Phillips had two points each.

Jackrabbits earn spot in Class 4A state playoffs

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Lonoke's Gabe Rooney [30] heads off the field toward defensive coordinator Taggart Moore during the Jackrabbits' win over Stuttgart in Week 9. Also pictured for Lonoke are Jawaun Bryant [2] and Hunter Ellis [58]. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

SEARCY — The Lonoke Jackrabbits are headed to the Class 4A state playoffs by virtue of a 38-21 win over the Riverview Raiders on Thursday.

Lonoke is now 5-5 overall and 3-4 in 4A-2 play. The Jackrabbits will be the fifth seed from the conference in the playoffs and will travel to Gosnell to take on the Pirates on Friday.

Lonoke took a 6-0 lead on a 39-yard fumble return by Jawaun Bryant with 6:35 left in the first quarter to make the score 6-0.

Lonoke trailed 7-6 after the first quarter. The Jackrabbits reclaimed the lead on a 2-yard run by Xavier Hodge on the first play of the second quarter. Riverview took a 14-12 lead with 19 seconds left in the first half.

However, Lonoke's Justin Meadows scored on a 57-yard run on the next play from scrimmage to give the Jackrabbits a 20-14 halftime lead.

Meadows struck again on the second half kickoff, returning the ball 90 yards for a touchdown, giving Lonoke a 26-14 lead. Lonoke led 26-21 after three quarters.

Lonoke scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Will Miller thew a 63-yard touchdown pass to Meadows with 8:55 left. Josh Coleman scored on a 2-yard run with 1:33 left to account for the final score.

Hodge led the Jackrabbits with 94 yards rushing on 18 carries. Meadows had 69 yards on 5 carries. Coleman had 63 yards on 15 carries. 

Gabe Rooney led Lonoke with 14 tackles. Bryant had eight. Dylan Smith had seven. Meadows and Ethan Holland had six tackles each. 

Friday's game at Gosnell is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Pirates are 9-1 on the season. The winner will play the winner of Central Arkansas Christian and Malvern in the second round Nov. 20. 

Lonoke High School assistant principal David Landers contributed to this story via his Twitter feed.

Lady Bison split two games in preseason scrimmages

Carlisle's Kylie Warren attempts a running jumper during her team's game with Sylvan Hills. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

LITTLE ROCK — The Carlisle Lady Bison basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with scrimmages against Jacksonville and Sylvan Hills on Saturday at J.A. Fair High School. 

Carlisle beat Jacksonville 28-26 on a short jumper by Kayla Golleher with 8 seconds left in the second and final quarter.

In the second game, Carlisle fell to Sylvan Hills 36-27. 

Against Jacksonville, Kylie Warren led the Lady Bison with 15 points. Golleher had 7. Arius McClain and Elex McClain had 3 points each.

Against Sylvan Hills, Warren had 12 points. Arius McClain had 6. Elex McClain had 4. Nikita Harper and Golleher had 2 points each. Peyton Hitchings had 1.

Carlisle coach Jonathan Buffalo said his team played in team camps during the summer to get ready for the season. 

"It's not quite the same as putting on your real uniform and playing somebody," Buffalo said. "We've been beating up on ourselves the last three months. It was good to shake some rust off and see how we would do, competing against someone other than our own teammates.

"I thought they played hard. We played some good solid defense at times during the day."

The Lady Bison open the regular season Nov. 17 against the Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits at Bison Arena.

Peyton Hitchings brings the ball up the floor against Sylvan Hills. 

Bison clinch playoff spot with rout of Lions

Bison coach Jack Keith talks to his team prior to their game with Brinkley. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

CLARENDON — For the 25th time in 27 seasons and 10th in a row, the Carlisle Bison football team is playoff bound.

Carlisle improved to 4-5 overall and 4-3 in 2A-6 conference with a 44-12 win over the Clarendon Lions. With the win, The Bison secured a playoff spot, which starts next week.

"This is huge," Carlisle coach Jack Keith said of his team making the playoffs. "We can play loose this week against McCrory and not have to press and worrying about winning to get in."

In the win over Clarendon, the Bison took an 8-0 lead with 2:43 left in the first quarter. Devon Kendrick scored on a 9-yard run. He added the two-point conversion.

The Bison pushed the lead to 22-0 on a 2-yard run by Ty Golleher and a 58-yard touchdown pass from Golleher to Brynden Weems. 

Clarendon got on the board with a two-yard run with 2:13 left in the first half. Carlisle got that score back when Golleher scored on a 5-yard run with 25 seconds left. Kendrick added the two-point conversion to give the Bison a  30-6 halftime lead.

The Bison's lead ballooned to 37-6 when JaSean Harper scored on a 7-yard run with 8:11 left in the third quarter. Nicolas Duhoux kicked the extra point.

Carlisle's final score came on a 11-yard run by Garnell Harris with 9:17 left in the game. Duhoux kicked the extra point to give the Bison a 44-6. 

Clarendon added another touchdown with 2:22 left.

"We showed up and played the game we're supposed to play," Keith said. "We took care of business."

Golleher led the Bison with 121 yards rising on 25 carries. He completed both of his passes for 82 yards. Catching passes were Weems and Tristan Seidenschwarz.

Kendrick added 67 yards rushing on 11 carries.

The Bison conclude the regular season on the road Thursday night against McCrory. The Jaguars are undefeated in conference play at 7-0.

Jackrabbits rout Ricebirds, one win away from making playoffs

The Jackrabbits all signal for a touchdown after Will Miller scored on a quarterback sneak in the third quarter against Stuttgart. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

LONOKE — With their backs against the wall, the Lonoke Jackrabbits came out swinging with their best performance of the season. 

Lonoke started quick in beating Stuttgart 34-7 on Friday night at James B. Abraham Stadium.

With the win, Lonoke improved to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in 4A-2 league play.

Stuttgart got the ball to start the game but was forced to punt with Lonoke getting the ball with a short field. That led to a 6-yard touchdown run by Casey Martin with 7:34 left in the first quarter. Josh Coleman added the two-point conversion. 

Lonoke used a squib kick on the ensuing kickoff. The Jackrabbits recovered the free ball. A few plays later, Lonoke quarterback Will Miller threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Justin Meadows with 5:34 left in the first quarter. Coleman added another two-point conversion to give the Jackrabbits a 16-0 lead.

The Jackrabbits scored 12 points in the second quarter to lead 28-0 at halftime. Miller threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jawaun Bryant with 9:49 left. Meadows scored on a 10-yard run with 2:06 left. 

Stuttgart got its only points of the game on a  25-yard run by Je'rel Dabner with 7:57 left in the third quarter. Gavin Lawson kicked the extra point to make the score 28-7.

Lonoke's final score came on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Miller with 3:07 left in the third quarter. 

"This kinda reminded me of Week 1 against Star City," Lonoke coach Doug Bost said of his team's win over the Bulldogs. "We came out and the ball went our way. The kids played hard and we out-physicalled them. It's been a while since we've done that."

Bost said there's an outside chance for his team to make the Class 4A state playoffs but the Stuttgart game was a must-win for them. 

Lonoke can make the playoffs if it beats Riverview in the regular-season finale Thursday night in Searcy. Both teams are tied for fifth in the league standings.  The top 5 teams advance to the playoffs, which begin Nov. 13.

"We have to win the last two and have help from two other teams," Bost said immediately after the win over the Ricebirds. "It was also senior night and we wanted to send them out with a victory."

Xavier Hodge led Lonoke with 118 yards rushing on 26 carries. Coleman had 68 yards on 11 carries. 

Miller completed 4 of 6 passes for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant caught two passes for 31 yards. Meadows caught two passes for 22 yards.

Lonoke's defense held Stuttgart to only 154 yards in total offense.

Ethan Holland led Lonoke with nine tackles. Michael Hodes and Dylan Smith had seven tackles each. Gabe Rooney had six.

Thursday night's game at Riverview will start at 7 p.m.

Xavier Hodge carries the ball in the second half. 

Lonoke falls to CAC; playoff hopes are slim

Lonoke's Jawaun Bryant carries the ball after catching a pass against CAC. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

LONOKE — The Lonoke Jackrabbits are holding on to slim postseason chances after falling to first place Central Arkansas Christian 35-8 on Friday night at James B. Abraham Stadium.

Lonoke is tied for sixth place with Newport and Southside Batesville at 1-4. Riverview is in fifth place at 2-3. The top five teams advance to the Class 4A state playoffs.

The Jackrabbits host Stuttgart this Friday then play at Riverview in Searcy on Nov. 5. 

In the game with CAC, Lonoke fell behind 7-0 before taking an 8-7 lead with 4:56 left in the first quarter. Justin Meadows scored on a 69-yard run. Josh Coleman added the two-point conversion.

CAC scored two second-quarter touchdowns to lead 21-8 halftime lead. The Mustangs then scored two second-half touchdowns to account for the final score. 

Xavier Hodge led the Jackrabbits with 104 yards rushing on 21 carries. Meadows had 59 yards on 7 carries.

Lucas McKenzie led Lonoke with 10 tackles. Dylan Smith had nine. Michael Hodges had eight. Gabe Rooney had seven.