Texarkana rolls
Texarkana rode the arm of Keandre Banks ( above) and a stiff defense to knock off Little Rock Parkview on Thursday. Banks completed 14 of 22 passes for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns, and senior running back Kushaiah Jones scored three touchdowns as the Razorbacks beat the Patriots 35- 14 in 6A- South Conference play at War Eagle Stadium in Little Rock.
Keandre Banks’ passing and a stiff Texarkana defense carried the Razorbacks to a 35- 14 victory over Little Rock Parkview on Thursday night.
Banks completed 14 of 22 passes for 214 yards and senior running back Kushaiah Jones scored three touchdowns as the Razorbacks ( 2- 6, 2- 3) rolled to a victory on a cool evening at a dusty War Eagles Stadium.
Looking nothing like a one- victory team entering the 6A- South Conference game, Texarkana compiled 401 yards of total offense, 296 of which came in the first half as the Razorbacks built a 21- 0 lead. Parkview ( 5- 3, 2- 3) managed 278 total yards, but the bulk of that came on four pass plays.
Parkview quarterback Kollan Jackson completed 10 of 23 passes for 199 yards and 1 touchdown. He also ran for 67 yards on 21 carries.
“[ Jackson] had hurt us the last two years, once in the playoffs and once in the regular season last year, so we knew what we were up against,” Texarkana Coach Todd Ledford said. “He’s a good athlete and a good quarterback. We couldn’t let him just dominate the game.”
Banks, who also rushed for 77 yards, had two touchdown passes — a 54- yarder to senior Dre Taylor and a 9- yarder to Jones, both coming in the second quarter. The touchdown pass to Taylor came on a fourthand3 play after Banks scrambled to find his receiver open 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
“That’s what Banks brings to the table,” Ledford said. “He can extend plays.”
Jones, who finished with 58 yards rushing on 8 carries and caught 4 passes for 41 yards, scored his final two touchdowns in the fourth quarter on runs of 4 and 2 yards.
Senior Sylvester Henderson led Texarkana in receiving with six catches for 74 yards.
Parkview senior Kolby McNeal led the Patriots with 129 yards on five receptions. He also scored Parkview’s final touchdown on a 2- yard run with 4: 16 left.
Texarkana, which has won two of its past three games, could earn the conference’s No. 3 seed by winning the its final two regular- season games.
“We’re just now hitting our stride,” Ledford said. “We’ve had injuries and getting everybody back helps, especially with consistency..”
Texarkana scored on three of its first four possessions and led 21- 0 with 4: 51 left before halftime.
Parkview used just three plays to cut Texarkana’s lead to 21- 7. Despite triple coverage, McNeal hauled in a 44- yard pass to the Texarkana 31 on the first play of the drive. Two plays later, Jackson found senior Aman James down the right sideline for a 30- yard touchdown with 19 seconds left in the half.
Jones returned the opening kickoff 53 yards to set up the Razorbacks on the Parkview 43. Texarkana used five plays to take a 7- 0 lead. Kaviron Oliver scored from the 1 with 10: 16 left, and Tyler Braswell added the extra point.
Banks, connected with Taylor for a 54- yard touchdown on a fourthand3 play on the third play of the second quarter. Texarkana led 14- 0 after Braswell’s extra point.
Texarkana drove 80 yards on 11 plays to score its final touchdown of the first half. Jones caught his 9- yard scoring pass with 4: 51 left before halftime.