GRAVETTE — Suffering no side effects from a mild concussion suffered a week ago, it was Gravette's Colt Moorman who left McDonald County (MO) with a big headache Friday night.
Moorman, who splits time at quarterback with Colton Davis, engineered two long first-half scoring drives as the Lions edged the Mustangs 15-0 at Lion Stadium.
Moorman, who saw limited time in a 28-8 win over Jay, OK, after getting limited time after getting injured the previous week, led the drives of 60 and 78 yards that served as bookends to the first half.
The Lions (2-0) sped down the field at will on their first drive of the night. It took seven plays to cover the 60 yards with Moorman running it in from 7 yards out for the Lions' first touchdown.
From there the Lions' offense was just a tad bit better than the Mustangs' anemic 11 - until Gravette took over on its 22 with 9:15 left in the half.
Moorman threaded together a 17-play monster that milked 8:06 off the clock and was capped by a 1-yard sneak by Davis. Moorman quarterbacked on 14 of the 17 plays but it was a pass by Davis that pushed the Lions to within yards of the Mustang goal line.
On that drive, the Lions survived a bad center snapthat cost them 18 yards. Facing a second-and-9 six plays six plays later, Davis hit Travis Eden with a 26-yard pass that put the ball at the Mustang 3. Davis scored two plays later to make it 13-0.
"We really needed that drive," Gravette coach Bill Harrelson said. "The offense really showed a lot of heart and the line was just firing off the ball."
Moorman finished the first half 5 for 5 passing for 48 yards while Davis had 41 yards passing in a first 24 minutes dominated by Gravette (194 total yards to 34).
Gravette needed those two first-half scoring drives because the third quarter turned ugly for the Lions - five possessions that ended with an interception on the opening play of the second half followed by four consecutive three-and-outs.
"It seemed like 10," Harrelson said of the consecutive three-and-outs.
But defensive coordinator Duke Mobley's bunch made sure the first-half lead would more than stand up. The Lions recorded five sacks including one that produced a safety with 10:06 left to play.
The Mustangs (0-3) ran just five plays on the Gravette side of the field all night; their deepest penetration reached the Lion 34 but a lost fumble that resulted in a 12-yard loss killed that drive. Thedefense harried Mustang quarterback Cameron Farmer into a 6 for 23 outing. Farmer was intercepted once.
"I was really proud of the way the defense played," Harrelson said. "The guys played hard and they really hit when they got to the ball. Our defense just kept them pinned down all night."
Davis took most of the snaps in the second half after Moorman, who plays both ways, was felled with leg cramps. Moorman finished with 59 yards rushing and 52 yards passing. Davis had 53 yards passing.
Gravette's Michael Croasdel led all rushers with a punishing 92 yards on 19 carries.
Gravette led in first downs 12-7, in rushing 152-21, passing 102-75 and total offense 257-96.The Lions completed 12 of 26 passes with 2 interceptions, lost 2 of 3 fumbles, punted 7 times for 34.4 average and were penalized 4 times for 40 yards.
Off to Kansas
Gravette, along with a charter busload of boosters, will travel to Wellington, Kansas, this Friday where the Lions will tangle with the Crusaders.
The bus will leave about noon (ticket holders will know) and will return to Gravette immediately following the game. Homecoming will be the following Friday against the Pea Ridge Blackhawks.
News, Pages 10 on 09/16/2009