HUNTSVILLE -- Jordan Burnett would not be denied Friday night. Gravette's senior tailback surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark as he ran for 166 yards and three touchdowns and led the Lions to a 24-3 victory over Huntsville in 4A-1 Conference action at Eagle Stadium.
"He ran the ball really hard, the offensive line created some holes," Gravette coach Bill Harrelson said. "He also ran over some people in the secondary, and that big run really helped us out."
The "big run" was a 72-yard play where Burnett blew past the line of scrimmage, then broke a number of tackles in the Huntsville secondary near midfield before he raced into the end zone. That touchdown run helped him compile 132 yards by halftime and gave the Lions (6-2, 4-1) a 17-3 lead.
Gravette's defense made that 14-point cushion stand by the slimmest of margins. Huntsville (3-5, 1-4) took the ensuing kickoff and drove from its 33 to the Gravette 1 in a 14-play drive that chewed up the last 5 minutes, 48 seconds of the first half, but the Lions defense held up Eagles quarterback Wil Weaver at that point as time expired.
"We felt like we were in at the goal line," Huntsville coach Tommy Tice said. "We didn't get the call, and that's part of the game. It certainly hurt us. We made a charge, but they pushed us back. It was a good play on their part and bad coaching on our part."
Both teams traded field goals in the first quarter, with Huntsville's Manny Aldaco hitting a 36-yard kick to cap the opening drive and Gravette's Chris Childress answering with a 24-yard kick minutes later. Childress almost had a chance to kick another field goal, but Harrelson instead called a timeout and decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Eagles 7.
Burnett took the pitch and gained 2 yards to keep the drive alive. He went around the right end and scored on the next play to give the Lions the lead for good, then broke off his 72-yard touchdown run the next time he touched the ball.
"It was a little rough out there," Burnett said. "I thought I was going to go down, but I just kept moving my feet and running down the field.
"On the second touchdown, I just lowered my shoulder and kept going. I never knew when I got into the clear. I just kept running until I got into the end zone."
Burnett now has 1,004 yards rushing this season and has broken the 100-yard mark in seven of Gravette's eight games. His last carry was a 6-yard touchdown run, which came after a Lions defender batted a Weaver pass and it went into the arms of Noah Moore, Gravette's 6-foot-3, 348-pound defensive tackle.
Gravette 24, Huntsville 3
Gravette^3^14^0^7^--^24
Huntsville^3^0^0^0^--^3
First quarter
Hunt -- FG Aldaco 36, 6:57
Grav -- FG Childress 24, 3:30
Second quarter
Grav -- Burnett 5 run (Childress kick), 9:31
Grav -- Burnett 72 run (Childress kick), 5:48
Sports on 10/28/2015