CAMDEN — HARMONY GROVE - Friday night's competitive battle was befitting of the tradition-rich football rivalry between Ouachita County schools Harmony Grove and Bearden.
It was anybody's contest right up until the final moments with the Hornets emerging as 27-22 victors in their homecoming game against the Bearden Bears.
The comments of the coaches after the game reflected the intensity of the game that decides who for the next year possesses the Bill Manning competition trophy. The trophy and Harmony Grove's field is named in honor of the long-time Hornets' supporter.
Telling his players to keep their heads and that the coaches are "proud of you," Bearden's head coach Ernie Horstkamp said, "We just came up short. They made one more play than we did."
Hornets' head coach Tony Chambers expressed relief that Harmony Grove emerged from the battle victorious. "I'm just glad it's over," Chambers said. "We played about as well as we could play. I'm proud of them."
The 8-2A conference race continues for both teams with Bearden, 3-3, hosting unbeaten Hampton Friday night and Harmony Grove, 4-3, traveling to always-tough 5-2 Rison.
Harmony Grove opened Friday's game with a drive from its own 28 that took the Hornets to the Bears' 48. But the Bearden defense held and two huge passes by junior Bear quarterback Tyler Berry, plus a roughing the passer penalty against the Hornets took the Bears to the Harmony Grove 1-yard-line. Senior running back Xavier Cones then scored and Sontania Lawson carried in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead at 3:50 of the opening quarter.
After the ensuing Harmony Grove possession began with a 6-yard loss, senior quarterback Nathan Whitley threw to senior receiver Dakota Rucker who fought a defender for control and a 38-yard reception, giving the Hornets the ball at the Bears' 30-yard-line. The drive continued to the 20-yard-line where the Hornets faced a third-and-10. Whitley took it himself for a 16-yard gain. He then lost three on the last play of the first quarter moving the ball back to the 7-yard, but on the next play junior Jace Garcia scored from the fullback spot for his first of three touchdowns. Garcia then caught the two-point conversion pass from Whitley to tie the game at 8-8 less than a minute into the second quarter.
The Bears came roaring right back going from their own 40 to deep inside Hornets' territory on a drive kept alive by Berry's third-and-11 pass to sophomore Garrett McWhorter for a 12-yard gain. The drive reached the 6-yard-line and Bearden appeared to be going ahead but Lawson fumbled going across the goal line and Joey Poindexter recovered in the endzone for the Hornets.
The touchback gave Harmony Grove the ball at its own 20. From there, the Hornets went 80 yards in 11 plays with Whitley connecting with Garcia on an 11-yard scoring pass. Whitley ran the 2-point conversion, but a holding penalty moved the ball back and the 2-point pass attempt was incomplete, putting Harmony Grove ahead 14-8 with just under a minute left in the first half.
Poindexter intercepted Berry on the second play after the Bears took the kick-after-score. With time running out, the Hornets were able to move to the Bears' 46 and Whitley's throw to the endzone was intercepted by the Bears' Lawson to end the half with Harmony Grove leading 14-8.
The Bears had won the pre-game coin toss and deferred receiving until the second half. With Hornets' kicker Austin Jordan's kickoff going into the endzone, Bearden started on its own 20. The Bears, with a 20-yard pass from Berry to senior KeShawn Lee on third-and-six kept the drive going, but the Hornets stopped it a midfield, forcing Bearden to punt.
A 20-yard run by junior Jordan Hicks on third-and-three moved the Hornets toward Bearden territory and, after Garcia got across midfield to the Bears' 48 on an 8-yard run, Whitley connected with senior Dillon Vaughan on a 12-yard pass. Two plays later, Whitley hit Garcia with a 13-yard completion. After two Hicks' carries took it to the 15, Whitley ran it in from there and Jordan kicked the extra point to put the Hornets up 21-8 with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
But the Bears' quickly showed they were still in the game.
After moving to the Hornets' 42, but coming up short on a fourth-and 13, Bearden got the ball back on a fumble by Hicks recovered by Lee near the 32 and returned to the 2-yard line before being tackled by Garcia. Cones ran it in for the Bears on the next play. With the 2-point conversion run stopped, Bearden had pulled to within 21-14 with 30 seconds left on the third quarter clock.
Cones' kick after the Bearden score went into the end zone, giving the Hornets possession deep in their own territory. The Hornets made their bid to widen the gap at the start of the fourth quarter with Whitley moving the ball down the field with a 25-yard throw to Garcia. Two consecutive first down runs by Hicks had the ball at the Bearden 12. After Whitley picked up seven, he threw to Garcia for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Hornets a 27-14 lead with 8:13 still left in the game. Jordan's extra point kick was wide to the right.
Bearden quickly got the deficit to within a score on the next series. The Bears went 62 yards on nine plays, capped by Berry's 38-yard pass to junior Davarious Hughes for a score. Berry ran in the two-point conversion run to narrow the gap to 27-22 with 4:30 left in the game.
The Hornets were then able to run out the clock to pick up their second conference victory and improve their season record to 4-3.
The Hornets rushed for 245 yards on 49 carries in the game, led by Whitley with 116 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Hicks also broke a hundred yards with 104 yards on 21 carries. Whitley was 9-for-15 in the air for 154 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception. He also threw for two points. His leading receiver was Garcia who caught six passes for 71 yards with two touchdowns and a two-point reception.
Harmony Grove's defense held the Bears to 126 yards rushing on 38 carries, led by Berry with 56 yards on 18 carries. Cones had 10 carries for 34 yards with two touchdowns. Berry was six-for-10 in the air for 136 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The touchdown pass was to Hughes for his only reception of the game.