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Undaunted by the presence of ESPNU, Bastrop exploded for 36 first half points on its way to a victory 42-6 over Dollarway at Golden Lion Stadium on the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff campus Friday night.
Throw out the final score. Taking the field for the first time since the jamboree — last week’s game at Istrouma was a victim of Hurricane Gustav — the Rams looked like a team coming off of a two-week layoff.
“There was some sloppy football on both sides of the field,” said Bastrop coach Brad Bradshaw. “At times, our offense looked real confused. Defensively, we really struggled without (Tai) Alford out there controlling everything.”
On the positive side, the Rams were able to get a game under their belts and extend their winning streak to 45 games.
Jesse Grandy booted the opening kickoff into the endzone for a touchback, but the Rams wouldn’t be denied for long.
Bastrop struck paydirt on its first play for scrimmage. Running through a huge crease on the left side, JeVante Watson blazed 80 yards on the first carry of his varsity career.
The try for 2 failed, but the Rams were up 6-0 just 12 seconds into the contest.
Michael Willingham returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards before kicker Desmond Wilson made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 32.
Dollarway picked up a first down at the 17 with the aid of a personal foul penalty against the Rams, but could go no further.
Tim Fields sacked Grandy on first down and D’Andre Bradshaw broke through for another sack on fourth down.
Bastrop got back into the endzone on its third offensive series.
Taking over at its own 46 after D.D. Jones’ fumble recovery, the Rams marched 54 yards on seven plays.
Rueben Randle completed passes of 11 yards to Preston Coleman and 10 yards to Dwight Hawkins, before scoring on a 4-yard keeper. With Willie Graham running interference, Randle split two defenders for the Rams’ second touchdown.
Lining up at wide receiver, Randle caught the 2-point pass from Darren Anderson, upping the margin to 14-0 at 4:47 in the first quarter.
Jones also recovered a fumble to set up the Rams’ third score. D’Andre Bradshaw jarred the ball loose in the backfield and the Rams took over at the Dollarway 31.
Watson’s diving 14-yard catch on fourth-and-eight kept the drive alive.
Four plays later, the Rams converted another fourth down on the first snap of the second quarter. Randle found Stanley Moore on a 16-yard TD toss, bringing the score to 20-0.
Undaunted by the presence of ESPNU, Bastrop exploded for 36 first half points on its way to a victory 42-6 over Dollarway at Golden Lion Stadium on the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff campus Friday night.
Throw out the final score. Taking the field for the first time since the jamboree — last week’s game at Istrouma was a victim of Hurricane Gustav — the Rams looked like a team coming off of a two-week layoff.
“There was some sloppy football on both sides of the field,” said Bastrop coach Brad Bradshaw. “At times, our offense looked real confused. Defensively, we really struggled without (Tai) Alford out there controlling everything.”
On the positive side, the Rams were able to get a game under their belts and extend their winning streak to 45 games.
Jesse Grandy booted the opening kickoff into the endzone for a touchback, but the Rams wouldn’t be denied for long.
Bastrop struck paydirt on its first play for scrimmage. Running through a huge crease on the left side, JeVante Watson blazed 80 yards on the first carry of his varsity career.
The try for 2 failed, but the Rams were up 6-0 just 12 seconds into the contest.
Michael Willingham returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards before kicker Desmond Wilson made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 32.
Dollarway picked up a first down at the 17 with the aid of a personal foul penalty against the Rams, but could go no further.
Tim Fields sacked Grandy on first down and D’Andre Bradshaw broke through for another sack on fourth down.
Bastrop got back into the endzone on its third offensive series.
Taking over at its own 46 after D.D. Jones’ fumble recovery, the Rams marched 54 yards on seven plays.
Rueben Randle completed passes of 11 yards to Preston Coleman and 10 yards to Dwight Hawkins, before scoring on a 4-yard keeper. With Willie Graham running interference, Randle split two defenders for the Rams’ second touchdown.
Lining up at wide receiver, Randle caught the 2-point pass from Darren Anderson, upping the margin to 14-0 at 4:47 in the first quarter.
Jones also recovered a fumble to set up the Rams’ third score. D’Andre Bradshaw jarred the ball loose in the backfield and the Rams took over at the Dollarway 31.
Watson’s diving 14-yard catch on fourth-and-eight kept the drive alive.
Four plays later, the Rams converted another fourth down on the first snap of the second quarter. Randle found Stanley Moore on a 16-yard TD toss, bringing the score to 20-0.
Two series later, the Rams capitalized on yet another Dollarway turnover. Alford recovered a botched shotgun snap to give the visitors a short field at the 15.
From there, Kevin Chatman carried for 11 yards and Watson punched it in from the 4.
Hawkins’ conversion run ran the spread to 28-0.
After Dollarway went three and out on its next series, Anderson directed an eight-play, 73-yard drive to conclude the first half scoring.
Anderson completed 3-of-3 passes for 45 yards, leading to Hawkins’ 4-yard TD burst.
Anderson’s conversion boosted the Rams’ lead to 36-0 with 4:40 still to play in the first half.
Bastrop scored its final touchdown on its first possession of the second half.
Rodney Heard’s 31-yard punt return led to a five-play, 35-yard drive.
On fourth-and-three, Watson dashed 28 yards for his third touchdown of the night.
The PAT failed, but the Rams had opened up a 42-0 bulge with 3:38 remaining in quarter number three.
Dollarway avoided the shutout with a defensive touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
Vedric Wilson stripped Anderson in the backfield and slipped a tackle near midfield on his way to an 87-yard touchdown dash.
Although the Cardinals dented the scoreboard, the Rams’ defense was hardly to blame.
Dollarway finished the evening with more turnovers (7) than first downs (5). For the game, the Cardinals managed only 59 yards of total offense.
Fields was the Rams’ top tackler with five stops, including two in the backfield for negative 12 yards. D’Andre Bradshaw had a monster game with two tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a deflected pass. In all, the senior defensive end accounted for minus 33 yards.
Middle linebacker Brett Bell was a bright spot for the Cardinals (0-2) defensively with 14 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Bastrop will play at home Friday night against Richwood.
Notes: The second half was played with a running clock under Arkansas’ mercy rule. Arkansas requires that the clock run continuously in the second half, once a team establishes a 35-point lead in football or a 30-point advantage in basketball. ... The quick second half was a reversal of the first half as the first quarter lasted 50 minutes. ... Kevin Chatman received a gash under his chin in the first half. After team physician Dr. John Lipka applied 12 stitches to the cut at halftime, Chatman returned to action.
