Jackrabbits beat Heber Springs while Lady Rabbits fall

The Lonoke coaching staff talks to its players during the season opener with Carlisle. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

The Lonoke Jackrabbits and Lady Jackrabbits split their 4A-2 conference openers with Heber Springs on Nov. 25 at the Gina Cox Center.

Lonoke won the boys game 51-38 while the Lonoke girls lost 51-45.

In the boys game, Lonoke (2-0)  got off to a quick start, leading 15-4 after one quarter. Brenton Bryant scored 5 points in the first quarter. Nick Bates had 4 while Byron Fair, Justin Meadows and Jawaun Bryant had 2 each. 

Lonoke pushed its lead to 29-11 by halftime. Heber Springs made a run in the second half but could not get over the hump.

Lonoke's Jawaun Bryant made all 6 of his free throws in the fourth quarter. He led the Jackrabbits with 15 points. Bates added 8. Scoring 7 each were Brenton Bryant and Bryson Jackson. Fair added 6. Meadows scored 4. Tyler Spencer had 3. Yancy Cooney added a free throw.

In the girls game, Lonoke (2-1) led 10-9 after one quarter and 23-18 at halftime. Eboni Willis scored 8 points in the first half. Ashlyn Allen scored 7.

Heber Springs outscored Lonoke 33-22 in the second half. 

Willis led Lonoke with 12 points. Amanda Sexton had 11. Kerasha Johnson had 9. Jarrelyn McCall scored 7. Allen added 6.

Loonke coach Nathan Morris talks to his team during their game with Carlisle. 

Jr. Lady Bison win Guy-Perkins Invitational

The Carlisle Junior Lady Bison with their plaque after beating Pangburn to win the Guy-Perkins Invitational
(Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

GUY — The Carlisle Junior Lady Bison jumped out to a 12-point first half led then held off a furious rally to beat Pangburn 38-34 to win the Guy-Perkins Junior High Invitational on Saturday night. 

Carlisle (4-2) led 10-3 after one quarter and 15-3 following a putback by Heather Bowlan with 4:27 left in the first half. The Junior Lady Bison led 22-11 at halftime.

Pangburn opened the second half with a 9-2 run to pull to within four at 24-20. Carlisle's Arius McClain scored four in a row to push her team's lead to 28-20 with 1:29 left in the third quarter.

Pangburn eventually got on a roll in the fourth quarter and closed to within one at 35-34 following a steal and layup by Hannah Bourgeois with 47 seconds left in the game.

After a Carlisle turnover, Pangburn had a chance to take the lead but missed a short jumper. Carlisle's Deshaye Ricks hit 1 of 2 foul shots with 15.9 seconds left. Pangburn missed a layup and fouled Ricks again with 7.7 seconds left. Ricks hit both foul shots to ice the victory.

The victory over Pangburn was Carlisle's third in a row after losing to Lonoke on Tuesday. Carlisle beat Conway Christian in the first round and host Guy-Perkins in the semifinals.

"We bounced back and won three in a row after going to Lonoke where we struggled," Carlisle coach Jonathan Buffalo said. "Tonight, we got up to a big lead  in the first half. I told them at halftime that it was going to be tough and to find a way to win. We don't want to play to lose but to win. And we were able to do so."

Ricks led Carlisle with 15 points. Arius McClain had 14. Bowlan scored 8. Dreya McClain added a free throw.

Carlisle's Heather Bowlan [24] fights for a loose ball.

Deshaye Ricks eyes a shot against Pangburn.

Lonoke knocks off Carlisle in basketball

Lonoke's Amanda Sexton, left, battles for a loose ball with Carlisle's Kylie Warren and Kayla Golleher. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

LONOKE — In a the "Battle of Highway 70," Lonoke swept Carlisle on Tuesday night at the Gina Cox Center.

Senior girls

The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits (2-0) used a 13-0 run in the first half to help beat the Carlisle Lady Bison 62-31.

Lonoke led 3-0 after a three-pointer by Kerasha Johnson. Carlisle's Molli Weems hit 1 of 3 free throws before the Lady Jackrabbits scored the final 13 points of the first quarter to lead 16-1.

Carlisle (1-1) went on an 11-2 run to pull to within six at 18-12 with 2:38 left in the first half. 

Carlisle was hampered by foul trouble as starting guard Kylie Warren picked up her fourth foul with 2 minutes left in the first half. Lonoke led 27-14 at halftime.

Lonoke pushed its lead to 29-14 on a putback by Jarrelyn McCall early in the second half. Carlisle's Peyton Hitchings hit a short jumper to make the score 29-16. From there, Lonoke outscored Carlisle 15-12 to end the quarter. 

The Lady Jackrabbits scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter. McCall scored 8 of those points.

McCall led Lonoke with 20 points. Amanda Sexton had 14. Callie Whitfield added 8. Johnson scored six. Ashlyn Allen had 5. Eboni Willis added 4. Riely Rowton and Kimistri Ballance has 3 points each.  

Elex McClain led Carlisle with 12 points. Weems had 7. Warren scored six. Scoring 2 each were Hitchings, Nikita Harper and Nicquira Burnett.

Lonoke's Isaac Toney drives past Carlisle's Lewis Bunch. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

Senior boys

The new-look Lonoke Jackrabbits used a 13-0 run in the first quarter to help build a 24-13 halftime lead en route to a 58-27 win over the Carlisle Bison in the season opener for both teams.

Lonoke played in the Class 4A state championship game a year ago and lost their top six players to graduation. 

Carlisle took a 2-0 lead on a baseline jumper by Drake Adams. Lonoke's Nick Bates scored four in a row to start the run, which was highlighted by a breakaway dunk from Justin Meadows. Carlisle's Devon Kendrick broke the run with a layup late in the quarter.

Carlisle tried to keep it close but trailed 24-13 at halftime. The Jackrabbits scored the first 10 points of the second half to pull away from the Bison. They led 38-19 after three quarters. 

Jawaun Bryant led Lonoke with 9 points. Isaac Toney scored 8. Brenton Bryant had 7. Yancy Cooney scored 6. TaMarrae Moore had 5. Bates scored 4. Bryson Jackson, Tyler Spencer and Byron Fair scored 3 points each. Scoring two each were Meadows, Ryan Truelove and Kylan Branscomb.

Nick Schafer led Carlisle with 6 points. Scoring 4 each were Adams, Lewis Bunch, Cole Sheets and Kendrick. Zack Caviness had 3.  Bryden Weems had 2 points each.

Bison fall to Gurdon in first round of 2A playoffs

Bison quarterback Chase Brazeal looks to pitch the ball to Jacob Cagle during action earlier in the 2014 season. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

GURDON — The Carlisle Bison's 2014 season came to an end with a 40-24 loss to the Gurdon Go-Devils in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs on Friday. With the loss, Carlisle's final record is 4-7.

Gurdon led 18-0 after one quarter and 40-0 at halftime. 

Carlisle kept fighting in the second half, scoring 24 points.

Jacob Cagle scored on a 15-yard run with 8:45 left in the third quarter. Thomas McCallie scored the two-point conversion.

The Bison's second touchdown came on a 4-yard run by Chase Brazeal with 8:35 left in the game. Clinton Hampton scored the two-point conversion.

McCallie scored the Bison's final touchdown of the season on a 3-yard run with 20 seconds left. Cagle scored the two-point conversion. 

Hampton led the Bison with 113 yards rushing on 15 carries. Cagle had 76 yards rushing on 11 carries. He caught 3 passes for 20 yards. 

Brazeal completed 3 of 8 passes for 20 yards. 

Jackrabbits fall to Prairie Grove in first round of 4A playoffs

The Lonoke coaching staff talks to their game during their win over Riverview two weeks ago. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

PRAIRIE GROVE — The Lonoke Jackrabbits late-season run came to an end with a 41-24 loss to Prairie Grove in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs Friday night. With the loss, Lonoke ends its season at 5-6; The Tigers advance to the second round where they will play at Nashville.

Prairie Grove led 14-0 after the first quarter. Blake Faulk scored on an 11-yard run with 5:39 left. The two-point conversion was good. Reed Orr then scored on a 3-yard run with 1 second left.

Lonoke scored the next 16 points to lead 16-14 at halftime. Josh Coleman scored on a 15-yard run with 7:49 left in the first half. Logan Dozier scored the two-point conversion. Justin Meadows then caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from Savonte Rountree with 4:18 left. Meadows scored the two-point conversion. 

Lonoke then pushed its lead to 24-14 when Caleb Bailey returned the second half kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. Dozier scored the two-point conversion.

From there, Prairie Grove scored the game's final 27 points. Bobby Catt scored on a 10-yard run. Isaac Disney caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Marrell. Eli Lopez and Faulk both scored on a 2-yard runs in the fourth quarter. 

Rountree completed 5 of 12 passes for 118 yards. Meadows caught 2 passes for 69 yards. Also catching passes were Bailey, Coleman and Chandler Elmore. 

Coleman led Lonoke with 77 yards rushing on 14 carries. Meadows had 64 yards on 9 carries. 

Elmore led Lonoke with 14 tackles. Meadows had 11. Devin Mosley had 10. Trey Bevis had 8.

Lady Rabbits open season with win

Lonoke's Kerasha Johnson drives to the basket during action last week. She scored 12 points in the Lady Jackrabbits' season-opening win over DeWitt on Tuesday. 

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

LONOKE — The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits opened the 2014-15 season with a 57-26 win over the DeWitt Dragonnettes on Tuesday at the Gina Cox Center.

The game was close in the first quarter as Lonoke led 9-4 after eight minutes. Lonoke's Eboni Willis scored four points while Amanda Sexton had three and Kerasha Johnson hit a field goal. 

The Lady Jackrabbits pulled away in the second and third quarters. They scored 22 points in the second and 24 in the third while DeWitt had only 16 points combined in that time frame. 

Johnson scored six points in the second. Ashlyn Allen had five. Sexton scored four. Riely Rowton had a three-pointer. Scoring two each were Willis and Jarrelyn McCall. 

McCall scored seven points in the second quarter. Sexton hit two three-pointers. Johnson had four. Rowton hit a three-pointer while Callie Whitfield and Allen scored two points each.

McCall scored Lonoke's only basket of the fourth quarter. 

Sexton led Lonoke with 13 points. Johnson had 12. McCall added 11. Allen had seven. Rowton and Willis had six points each. Whitfield had two. 

Lady Bison open season with win over Woodlawn

Carlisle's Kylie Warren shoots for 2 during the Lady Bison's win over Woodlawn. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

CARLISLE — The new-look Carlisle Lady Bison opened the 2014-15 season with a 47-35 win over the Woodlawn Lady Bears at Bison Arena on Tuesday night. 

Carlisle lost five seniors off last year's squad, which finished as co-conference champions with Brinkley. 

In the win over Woodlawn, Carlisle 11-10 after one quarter and 21-16 at halftime.

Carlisle pushed its lead to 23-16 early in second half on a jumper by Peyton Hitchings. Woodlawn made a run to lead 27-26 with 1:49 left in the third quarter. Carlisle's Kylie Warren then converted a three-point play with 17.7 seconds left in the quarter to give the Lady Bison a 29-27 lead.

Woodlawn tried to keep it close, trailing 33-31 with 5:19 left in the game. The Lady Bison closed the game on a 14-4 run. They hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final 5:08. 

"I told the girls that in the second half, it's just about finding a way to win," Carlisle coach Jonathan Buffalo said. "Getting the win was important as is getting better."

Warren led Carlisle with 25 points. Hitchings added 9. Scoring 4 each were Molli Weems, Kayla Golleher and Elex McClain. Nicquira Burnett added three.

Jordan Wylie led Woodlawn with 12 points. 

Carlisle's Peyton Hitchings brings the ball up the floor against Woodlawn.