GENTRY -- Jordan Burnett rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns, and Gravette withstood a final scoring chance for Gentry in a 34-30 win Friday night.
Burnett's final touchdown came with 2 minutes, 20 remaining, a 4-yard plunge that put the Lions (7-3, 5-2 4A-1 Conference back on top.
"I told them when they went out on the field (for the game-winning drive), 'We'll find out if we're a championship team or not right here,'" Gravette coach Bill Harrelson said. "And they responded."
Gravette led for much of the game, but the Pioneers (3-7, 1-6) battled back against their rival to the north to take a 28-24 lead following a pair of touchdowns in less than three minutes to end the third quarter and begin the fourth.
Their go-ahead touchdown was a 76-yard sprint down the right sideline by senior C.J. Taylor, who finished 146 yards rushing on 18 carries and scored all four of Gentry's touchdowns.
The Pioneers appeared to have the game in hand after they stopped Gravette on its next possession, but the Lions immediately took the ball back with an interception by Austin O'Brien on Gentry's first play.
Gravette followed with an 11-play, 70-yard scoring drive -- one that included a fourth-down conversion by Burnett and several key completions by quarterback Bryce Moorman.
Moorman finished 18-of-24 passing for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but it was Burnett who capped the go-ahead drive with his burst up the middle to put the Lions up 34-30 and ease their fears after Gentry had gone ahead.
"I was very worried; I was so scared," Burnett said. "It was very emotional, because we had to score or it was over."
Gentry had a final chance at the win, driving 53 yards in the final 2:11 of the game down to the Gravette 12. A pass interference call on the Lions on fourth down gave the Pioneers one final untimed play from the 6, but John Faulkenberry's last attempt fell incomplete to preserve the win for Gravette.
Faulkenberry finished 18-of-36 passing for 203 yards, adding 64 yards on the ground.
"We had a chance there at the end," Gentry coach Paul Ernest said. "... That's all you can ask for is a chance at the end against a good football team. I'm proud of the way the kids played."
Moorman was nearly perfect in the first half, completing his first six passes and finishing the half 9-of-11 passing for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His first scoring pass was a 29-yard connection to Layne Martinez, and the second an 11-yard throw into the flat to Kilby Roberts.
The touchdown pass to Roberts gave Gravette a 28-16 halftime lead, and it helped the Lions keep their distance from the Pioneers -- who overcame an early 14-0 deficit to close within 22-16 early in the second quarter.
Burnett had a pair of first-half touchdown runs for Gravette, a 2-yard plunge and a 59-yard breakaway.
Taylor had two touchdown runs of his own for Gentry, which lost five straight games to end the season. The senior's first was a 2-yard run, while the second was an 8-yarder on the first play of the second half -- after which the Pioneers closed the Lions lead to 22-16 when Faulkenberry found Wyatt Clark for the two-point conversion.
Gravette 34, Gentry 30
Gravette^22^6^0^6^--^34
Gentry^8^8^8^6^--^30
First Quarter
Grav -- Martinez 29 pass from Moorman (Childress kick), 9:16
Grav -- Burnett 2 run (Childress kick), 7:46
Gent -- Taylor 8 run (Jo. Faulkenberry pass to Clark), 4:33
Grav -- Burnett 59 run (Rolsma pass to Moorman), 3:43
Second Quarter
Gent -- Taylor 3 run (Jo. Faulkenberry pass to Clark), 11:51
Grav -- Roberts 11 pass from Moorman (pass failed), :30
Third Quarter
Gent -- Taylor 2 run (Ja. Faulkenberry pass to Jo. Faulkenberry), :55
Fourth Quarter
Gent -- Taylor 76 run (run failed), 10:23
Grav -- Burnett 4 run (run failed), 2:20
Sports on 11/11/2015