CAMDEN — By JIM EDWARDS
For the Camden News
HARMONY GROVE - Harmony Grove celebrated the 50th year of its football program Friday night, scoring almost 50 points in a dominating 48-12 victory over the Strong Bulldogs to begin 8-2A conference play.
Football at Harmony Grove High School began in 1967 and players from that year were named honorary captains and were on the field for the pre-game coin toss. All football players who have participated over the years were then invited onto the field for a halftime program that listed team accomplishments for years in every decade, including names of those who earned all-state and all-district honors.
Football memorabilia was on display and former players were treated to a pre-game meal.
The 2017 edition of the Harmony Grove Hornets made the celebration complete with the win, playing the entire second half under the mercy rule after leading 48-6 at halftime.
An unfortunate aspect of the game came just five plays into the contest when Strong's Lavonte Washington was injured and the game was halted for about 20 minutes while an ambulance was summoned and came to transport the the Bulldog senior from the field. The El Dorado News-Times reported Saturday that Washington suffered a dislocated kneecap.
Three plays after the game was resumed, Hornet junior Chase Amidan set the table for Harmony Grove's first score when he recovered a Strong fumble, giving the ball to the Hornets at the Bulldogs' 13. Seven plays later, senior Jace Garcia scored the first of his three touchdowns in the game, powering in from the 2-yard line. Senior kicker Austin Jordan put the PAT through the uprights for a 7-0 lead with 5:37 left in the opening quarter.
Garcia scored for the second time in the first quarter with 2:56 on the clock, going in from the 4-yard line. With Jordan's extra point kick going wide, the Hornets had a 13-0 lead.
Sophomore Xaylon Falls got in on the scoring action on the first play of the second quarter when he got the first of his three touchdowns of the evening. Falls put a great move on a Strong defender, abruptly changing direction from the center of the field and cutting to his left on his way to a 44-yard touchdown. Jordan's PAT was good for a 20-0 Hornet lead.
Fall's second touchdown came on defense when he scooped up a Strong fumble after a completed pass and took it in for a 10-yard touchdown. Jordan's PAT kick upped the Hornets' lead to 27-0 with 9:20 left in the first half. Freshman Jeremy Edwards and junior Tristan Tate also recovered fumbles in the first half.
The Hornets widened the gap to 35, meaning the mercy rule would kick in at the beginning of the second half, on a pass by junior quarterback Gannon Bearden to junior receiver Kentrell Hill.
The play originated at the Hornets' 23-yard line when Bearden threw the completion to Hill who spun away from a Strong defender and went all the way for the 77-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Garcia threw a pass to senior Pacardo Thomas for the 2-point conversion and 35-0 lead. The touchdown came one play after Hill had intercepted Strong quarterback Desmond Newton.
On the kickoff after the score, Newton avenged the interception by returning the kick for a 96-yard touchdown, taking away the mercy rule margin. The Hornet defense stuffed Strong's two-point run attempt, and the score was 35-6 with 5:31 left before the half.
That was enough time for Harmony Grove to again lead by 35 when Garcia recorded his third touchdown of the game on a 12-yard carry. Jordan's PAT kick missed and the Hornet lead was 41-6 with 4:33 left in the second quarter. But the Hornets were not done scoring in the first half. Harmony Grove got the ball at its own 45 with about two minutes left in the second quarter after stopping Strong on a fourth-and-10.
Falls got his third touchdown of the game five plays later with 34 seconds left in the half. He twisted away from would-be tacklers to get free on a 26-yard scoring run and Jordan kicked the extra point for Harmony Grove's 48-6 lead at halftime.
Coach Tony Chambers played reserves the entire second half, with the clock not stopping under the mercy rule, and the Hornets managed to keep Strong out of the endzone until just seven seconds remained in the game. Makalis Jefferson, playing the second half at quarterback, ran in from the 1-yard line for the Bulldogs' second score and the final 48-12 margin. The 2-point conversion attempt was stopped.
The explosive Hornets' offensive output was led by Garcia's and Falls' three touchdowns apiece and senior running back Jordan Hicks' 155 yards on eight carriers.
The Hornets piled up 306 yards on the ground and Bearden was five-for-nine in the air for 150 yards, including a touchdown, with no interceptions. Hill led in receiving yardage with his one catch for a 77-yard touchdown. Thomas caught a pass for 39 yards and Garcia caught two for 33 yards.
Newton led in offensive stats for the Bulldogs, carrying the ball 15 times for 45 yards, plus his 96-yard kickoff return. Jefferson scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run and was 2-for-6 passing for 40 yards. He had no interceptions while Newton's only pass was picked off by Hill. Hill ended the game with two interceptions. Strong sophomore LeAndrew Greer carried the ball 10 times for 41 yards and caught a 28-yard pass.
The Hornets held the Bulldogs to a total of 104 rushing yards on 32 carries.
"It's about time," Chambers said of his Hornets' performance Friday night. "It's about time we played a game I knew we were capable of," adding, "Every week we seem to get better and better."
Harmony Grove is now 1-3 for the season, 1-0, in conference and travels to Hampton Friday. The Bulldogs of Hampton, who played in last season's 2A title game in Little Rock, are 3-1 for the season, opening 8-2A competition Friday night with a 35-12 victory over Parkers Chapel.
Asked if he plans any special strategy changes in preparing for this crucial conference matchup, after the narrow 36-27 loss to Hampton last season, Chambers expressed confidence in what has brought the Hornets success.
"I felt like last year we had a good game plan," he said. One headache the Hornets won't have to contend with this year is Hampton's 2016 All-Everything Monta Thomas who led the Bulldogs to an undefeated regular season, with the only 2016 loss coming in the state championship game. Thomas graduated, but Hampton still is a formidable football team, according to Chambers.
"They lost Thomas, but he wasn't their whole team," Chambers said, noting the talent of their underclassmen. "Their junior team was good."