Sunday afternoon, nearly two days after Friday night’s game at Jonesboro, El Dorado running back Jeremy Samuel still sounded just a bit breathless. And why not? The junior had 38 carries for 262 yards and two touchdowns in a crucial 21-14 victory.
“I was pretty tired, almost 40 carries,” Samuel said. “It was a little bit of a surprise. But I liked it, though.”
In the second quarter, Samuel had six consecutive carries during one stretch. He had the ball on 6-of-8 plays during a third quarter drive and carried the ball on 5-of-7 downs while eating up the clock in the fourth quarter, teaming with sophomore Jeremiah Warner.
Warner added 46 yards on 10 carries.
“Jeremy Samuel and Jeremiah Warner is a pretty good 1-2 punch,” said El Dorado coach Chris Hill. “They’re both strong. Both have a lower center of gravity. Both break tackles.
“Jeremy came through tonight with that many carries and tough yardage. That’s the type of kid he is. He did a great job. And Jeremiah came in and got some reps and lightened the load for Jeremy a little bit.”
Samuel went over the 1000-yard mark with 1,078 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season.
Samuel’s 2-yard run with 8:02 left in the third quarter tied the game. The Wildcats took the lead with 5:57 left to play on a 7-yard run by quarterback Gavin Jacobs.
From that point on, El Dorado’s plan was ground-and-pound to kill the clock.
“I already knew we had the same game plan to run the ball so I had to keep running hard,” said Samuel, who praised his offensive line and singled out left guard Christaveon Meadows.
“That was the best game we had all season.”
The Wildcats improved to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in 6A East play and will now host Sheridan in the regular season finale on Friday. A win would earn El Dorado the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and a home game in the first round.
“Just trying to get Sheridan out of the way first instead of worrying about the playoffs,” he said. “We’re trying to get a home game.”
Kickoff for Friday's game is 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.