Josiah Moore’s interception and return set up Jeremiah Warren’s 3-yard touchdown run with 5:25 left which gave El Dorado a 20-14 lead. The Wildcats held it until the end in Friday’s benefit scrimmage game against North Little Rock at Memorial Stadium.
The format called for two 12-minute regulation quarters in the first half. The second half had reserves playing two 10-minute quarters. Kicking game was dead and the quarterbacks were protected.
El Dorado dominated the first half and led 14-7 at the break.
“I hate to say too much before I watch the film. I think our kids felt better about the way they played,” said El Dorado coach Chris Hill. “We’ve been tough on them in practice and really challenging them. I think they felt like they played better. We were able to move the ball a little bit.”
The Wildcats’ first drive ended up in negative yards on two penalties. But the second drive marched down the field via the running game. Jeremy Samuel had runs of 5 and 20. Bretaveon Brown had a 10-yard carry before Jakori Lumsey rumbled for 39 to the 2-yard line, helped by a downfield block by AJ Gilmore. Cannon Jacobs flipped a 2-yard TD toss to Paxton Strong and Cooper Henry added the PAT with 7:40 left in the first.
The Wildcats scored again on their fourth possession. Jacobs connected with Josiah Moore for 21 yards before scoring on QB sneak. Henry’s kick pushed the lead to 14-0 with 5:51 left in the second.
The Charging Wildcats didn’t pick up a first down until the second quarter. North Little Rock scored on a fourth-and-goal, 6-yard pass with a minute left in the half.
“It’s a typical scrimmage, lots of good things that we did and there were lots of things we need to improve on next week. But that’s what scrimmages are for,” said Hill. “But I thought our kids’ effort was good. I thought our defense pursued the ball well. I thought the offense’s perimeter blocking was good. A lot of positives, we’ll focus on the positives and attack the negatives.”
In the second half, Hill was pleased with the experience gained by so many young players.
“We got a bunch of young guys. By young guys, it could mean what grade they’re in or it could mean their level of playing experience. You could be a junior or senior and still not have much experience,” he said. “We were able to get our guys on film. That will be good. We’ll evaluate the film and see who can possibly help us week one and who needs a little more work.”
The Wildcats will host Little Rock Christian in the season opener next week followed by a home game against rival Camden Fairview.
“We appreciate the crowd showing up for our scrimmage. We know they’re going to be full force the next couple of weeks playing at home,” Hill said. “We appreciate the crowd and their support of our young men.”