Jeremiah Warner scored on a 7-yard run with 1:06 remaining Friday to help El Dorado down Russellville 38-31 and advance to the second round of the 6A State Football Playoffs. The Wildcats improved to 7-4 and will travel to Greenwood next week.
Russellville tied the game 31-31 on a 33-yard field goal by Jesus Perez with 3:26 left in the fourth quarter.
El Dorado’s Jakori Lumsey returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the Wildcats’ 38. Cannon Jacobs carried for one and Warner ran for two more but was injured on the play. With leading rusher Jeremy Samuel also injured, Jacobs, a junior quarterback, carried the ball on three straight plays for 14, 3 and 4 yards. With an offsides on the Cyclones added in, El Dorado moved the ball to the 7-yard line before Warner ran it in over the left side of the line.
Freshman kicker Eric Flores kicked the PAT.
Russellville’s answering drive stalled after two plays after AJ Gilmore’s game-sealing interception. The Wildcats took two kneel downs to kill the clock.
Jacobs had 20 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Warner rushed for 81 yards and a TD. Samuel rushed for a touchdown and Gilmore caught touchdown passes of 46 and 19 yards from Jacobs.
Cooper Henry, El Dorado’s All-State kicker, was injured in the pregame warmups. Flores, who was called at home less than an hour before kickoff, kicked two PATs and handled kickoff duties. Freshman Justin Hammett served as the punter.
Russellville opened the scoring after recovering a fumble on the kickoff to start the game. Luke Jones connected with Julius Thompson on a 17-yard TD with 10:08 left in the first. Perez kicked the first of four extra points.
The Wildcats responded with a 70-yard drive, capped by Jacobs’ 17-yard TD run with 4:48 left in the first. The pass for two failed.
El Dorado would take the lead on a drive set up by Gilmore’s fumble recovery at the Russellville 21. It took seven plays before Samuel bullied into the end zone from the 1. The run for two failed leaving the Wildcats with a 12-7 advantage with 11:03 left in the second.
Russellville countered quickly when Jones hit Marcellus Olson-Patton on a 64-yard pass down the middle of the field with 10:47 left in the second.
Three plays later, Jacobs found Gilmore on a 46-yard touchdown strike. The run for two failed and the Wildcats led 18-14 with 9:24 left in the second.
After an interception by Evan Wilson, the Wildcats marched 90 yards in 15 plays. El Dorado converted a pair of fourth downs before Jacobs hooked up with Gilmore on a 19-yard touchdown. The run for two failed and the Wildcats led 24-14 with 3:28 left in the half, which would be the score at the intermission.
The Cyclones opened the third quarter with a 12-play, 61-yard drive, capped by Jones’ 12-yard run. The PAT cut the deficit to 24-21 with 5:59 left in the third.
El Dorado retaliated with a 34-yard touchdown run by Jacobs. Flores kicked the PAT for a 31-21 advantage with 4:30 left in the third.
Russellville then drove 49 yards in seven plays with Jones scoring on a 12-yard run, cutting the margin to 31-28 with 26 seconds left in the third.
The Wildcats drove to the Cyclones’ 11 before a personal foul penalty pushed the team back to the 26. The drive stalled after an incomplete pass on fourth-and-17.
Russellville then drove 12 plays to the El Dorado 16. On fourth-and-3, Perez drilled the tying 33-yard field goal.