Mohawks fall to Earle

Mohawk running back Kyle Wright (44) looks for running room against Earle Friday night as he follows the blocks of Conner Rodery (42) and David Blackburn (71).
(Times photo/Tim Blair)

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That was the case last Friday night as the Tribe traveled to Earle for a conference showdown with the Bulldogs, the fourth ranked 3A team in the state of Arkansas. Facing two All-State running backs, and a team that has dominated all comers so far this year, the Mohawks calmly picked-up their lunch pails and headed off to work. And although they came out on the short end of a 48-0 score, the Tribe made their presence known and even found a few chinks in the armor of the Earle squad.

"We knew they were good going down there, and they got away from us early and we couldn't catch-up," Coach Dave Hendrix surmised on Tuesday, "we just couldn't put it in the endzone." The Mohawks were also still without the services of end Tanner Murray and running back Zac Trammell, although Zach Redmon was back in the line-up and the backfield.

But the Bulldogs, behind the running of Mike Wilson and Michael Bowles, dominated the game by way of the big play. On the other side of the football Earle was able to shut down the Mohawk running game in the first half, although adjustments by the Piggott coaching staff resulted in more yardage in the third and fourth quarters. Those changes led to several sustained second-half drives for the Tribe, and a stern post game lecture for the Earle players from their coaches.

The Bulldogs struck first with a 41 yard touchdown run with 9:53 to go in the first quarter, and never looked back. They also got touchdown runs of 63, 20, 4 and 15 yards and a pass catch and run for 50 yards for another score. On the game Earle had 371 yards in total offense to 180 for the Mohawks, although the Bulldogs only had 10 first downs on the game compared to eight for the Tribe. That reflected the big play scoring that was the difference in the ballgame.

Top rusher for the Mohawks was once again Alek Samples, as he finished with 55 yards on 12 carries. Samples also had some 170-yards-plus in kickoff returns on the night. Zach Redmon marked his return with 39 yards on just six carries, while Spencer Coomer finished with 39 yards on 13 carries. Quarterback Jon Perkins also connected with Hayden McMillon on a 13 yard pass reception.

With the loss the Mohawks fell to 1-3 overall on the season and 0-2 in 3A-3 conference play. With the win Earle improves to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference.

"We go from the number four team in the state to the sixth this week," Hendrix noted of Friday night's homecoming contest with the Harrisburg Hornets at Parker Field, "we just have to weather the storm."

Last week Hornet QB Zach Davis threw six touchdown passes in the 55-14 win over the Manila Lions at Harrisburg. Davis was 20 of 32 on the night for over 460 yards and had three receivers with over 100 yards receiving. With that win the Hornets improved to 4-1 and 1-1 in conference play.

Homecoming activities are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Friday night at Parker Field, with kickoff set for 7:30 as the Mohawks host the Hornets.