GENTRY -- The Pioneers attempted to score unsuccessfully on an onside kick to open the game Friday, then overcame three fumbles to rally for a 24-6 victory over Lincoln at Pioneer Stadium, clinching a Class 4A playoff berth in the process.
Gentry (3-6, 3-3 4A-1 Conference) fumbled twice in the second quarter trying to field punts. The second helped Lincoln (2-7, 1-5) to a 6-0 halftime lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Harrison Swayne to Kaleb Ayers on the final play of the half.
But the Pioneers recovered in the second half, getting three touchdowns and a field goal, including a fumble return for their final score.
"I'm glad we were able to take advantage of a few things," Gentry Coach Brian Little said.
"(Lincoln) scored right before halftime and took the momentum. I told our guys we had to find a way to respond to that."
They responded with a 67-yard drive to open the second half. Jon Brown ran the final five yards for the touchdown. Alex Ellis added the extra point to give Gentry the lead for good.
Gentry put together an 11-play, 82-yard drive that ended with a one-yard run by Kevin Easter with 9:41 remaining for a 14-6 lead.
Ellis kicked a 27-yard field goal with 3:20 left to extend the lead to 17-6.
The Wolves' final two possessions ended in fumbles.
Swayne fumbled on the first play after the kickoff and I Chen scooped the ball up at the 10 and ran it in for a touchdown.
Lincoln reached the Gentry 15 with 26 seconds remaining before Dakota Smith forced Swayne to pitch wildly. Dustin Stoufflet recovered for Gentry.
"We had some drives that a bad break here or there put us behind the sticks," Lincoln Coach Scott Davenport said. "Whenever you've got two evenly matched teams, you can't put yourself in that position. We couldn't come back from it."
Smith spent all night disrupting the Wolves' offense. The senior had eight tackles, seven for losses totaling 65 yards. Included were 6 sacks for 45 yards.
Swayne lost 69 yards on the ground, negating much of the 163 yards gained by Charles Rowe. Brown ran 23 times for 106 yards to lead Gentry.
EXTRA POINTS
• Gentry had 14 players making their final appearance at Pioneer Stadium.
UP NEXT: Gentry visits Gravette with playoff seeding at stake. Lincoln closes its season at home against Prairie Grove.
Gentry 24, Lincoln 6
Lincoln 0 6 0 0 -- 6
Gentry 0 0 7 17 -- 24
SECOND QUARTER
Linc -- Ayers 27 pass from Swayne (kick failed), 0:00
THIRD QUARTER
Gent -- Brown 5 run (Ellis kick), 8:54
FOURTH QUARTER
Gent -- Easter 1 run (Ellis kick), 9:41 Gent -- Ellis 27 FG, 3:20 Gent -- Chen 10 fumble return (Ellis kick), 3:00
Sports on 11/05/2014