Pulaski Academy advances to championship

PULASKI ACADEMY 50, NETTLETON 28

JONESBORO — Pulaski Academy coach Kevin Kelley said at the Bruins’ practice Wednesday that he wanted two onside-kick recoveries.

He got them Friday night at Nettleton’s Raider Field.

Two first-half onside-kick recoveries led to 15 Bruins points en route to a 50-28 victory over the Raiders in the Class 5A semifinals.

Pulaski Academy ( 13- 0) will play 5A-Central Conference-rival Little Rock McClellan in the Class 5A state championship game at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Bruins defeated McClellan in the 2015 5A title game.

Kelley’s Bruins have never lost a game when recovering at least two onside kicks, he said.

“We talk about it. We focus on it,” said Kelley, who has won six state championships since becoming head coach at Pulaski Academy in 2003. “Psychologically, it’s a big difference. Besides taking possessions away, our guys believe we’re going to win at that point. They just know it. I’m proud of those guys.”

Nettleton cut Pulaski Academy’s lead to 14-7 with 2:34 left in the first quarter on senior quarterback Deondre Henry’s 23-yard pass to classmate Jayron Northern. But the Bruins made it 21-7 with 1:35 left in the quarter on senior quarterback Layne Hatcher’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Tra Johnson, also a senior.

Pulaski Academy junior Wyatt Howe recovered Hatcher’s onside- kick attempt at the Nettleton 49 with 1: 35 remaining in the first quarter. Nine plays later, Hatcher scored from 2 yards out and his two-point conversion pass to Johnson made it 29-7 Bruins with 11:19 left in the second quarter.

The Bruins got the ball back when Hatcher’s onside kick was recovered by sophomore Merritt Jones at the Pulaski Academy 45. Hatcher threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to senior John David White with 9:22 left in the first half for a 35-7 advantage.

For Nettleton Coach Steven Hampton, the onside-kick recoveries were too much to overcome for the Raiders (112), the No. 1 seed from the 5A-East Conference.

“It’s tough,” Hampton said. “To give it up to a high-powered offense, it’s tough. It’s hard when they’re clicking. They get on a roll.”

Pulaski Academy led 43-7 at halftime and invoked the Arkansas Activities Association’s sportsmanship rule for the second half.

Hatcher, who moved to 401 as the Bruins’ starting quarterback since 2015, completed 19 of 25 passes for 364 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also ran for a 2-yard touchdown.

Johnson led the Bruins’ receivers with 7 receptions for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns. White had 2 receptions for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns, while junior tight end Hudson Henry added 4 catches for 72 yards and a score.

Mason Kolb, a sophomore, had 44 yards and 1 touchdown on 8 carries to lead the Bruins’ running backs.

Senior running back Detavion Turner, who entered Friday’s game with more than 1,700 yards on the ground, finished with 79 yards and 1 touchdown on 17 carries. Deondre Henry completed 12 of 16 passes for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Northern caught 4 passes for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Bruins will play in their fourth consecutive state championship game next weekend. They’ll have an opportunity to become the first team since Barton in 1986-1989 to win four titles in a row if they defeat McClellan.

“The seniors have a chance to do something that hasn’t happened since 1989,” Kelley said. “They want that opportunity. They said it when they came in [entering the Bruins program]. I said, ‘Guys, you might be a little overconfident coming in as ninth- and 1oth-graders into the program. But they’ve set that goal as a program.

“They’ve worked and earned it.”