Lions overpowered, end season

    Photo by Sue Fancher 
Gravette senior, Shay Shimer, carries the ball and is pursued by a Valley View defender during playoffs at Jonesboro on Friday.
Photo by Sue Fancher Gravette senior, Shay Shimer, carries the ball and is pursued by a Valley View defender during playoffs at Jonesboro on Friday.

— Jaeger Sullins’ first start at quarterback ended with 10 points of offense and Valley View’s only loss of the regular season. The senior wouldn’t let it happen again.

Sullins rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries and added 107 yards passing and another score to lead Valley View to a dominant 35-7 first-round win over Gravette in the Class 4A State Playoffs.

During an even - and ugly - first quarter for both teams, Sullins scored the only points on a 62-yard run. He bolted up the middle and bounced outside to evade the onrushing secondary, then sprinted away.

“He runs the ball obviously, and we gave him too much time,” Gravette coach Bill Harrelson said. “The offensive line did a good job of protecting him.

“I wasn’t really surprised with how well he threw, but he did a great job all night running and throwing.”

The game’s turningpoint occurred early in the second quarter. Gravette (3-8) still trailed 7-0 but drove inside the Valley View 10. On fourth-and-1, the Lions ran a stretch play to the left, but running back Cedric Duarte never got to the edge and was dropped for a 3-yard loss.

Sullins then burst up the middle on the ensuing play and pulled away from the defense for an 89-yard touchdown sprint. In a matter of two plays, Valley View’s precarious lead had doubled.

Gravette had no answer for Sullins, who for the second straight week played quarterback in place of injured starter Noah Johns. The converted running back rushed for 191 fi rst-half yards and two touchdowns for the Blazers (10-1), who will travel to Prairie Grove for a second-round game this week.

But he also threw well enough to keep the defense honest. He made a nice 15-yard touchdown toss on the run to Jacob Lorenzana that pushed the lead to 21-0 just 3:02 before the half. Sullins finished 7-for-12 for 107 yards and a touchdown,and added a 9-yard touchdown run with 7 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it 35-0.

Extra Points

◊Valley View’s defense did its part, as well, as it forced Gravette into fi ve turnovers and stopped the Lions on downs twice in Blazer territory. Tristan Stalbaum recovered a third-quarter fumble and ran it back 48 yards fora touchdown to make it 28-0.

◊Gravette’s lone touchdown came on sophomore Bryce Moorman’s 13-yard pass to Terry Kahanek with 4:44 remaining.

◊Lions quarterback Wyatt Banta fi nished with 117 yards on 12-of-25 passing but had two interceptions. Duarte fi nished with 48 yards on 15 carries, while Cody Eaton caught three passes for 33 yards.

Sports, Pages 9 on 11/20/2013