A-J rallies for win at Sparta

The visiting Anna-Jonesboro Community High School football team learned that any game can be close in a 36-30 win over Sparta Friday night, Oct. 18. The game came down to the final possession.

“It was a lot closer than it should have been,” A-J football coach Brett Detering said. “We allowed them in the second half to get back in it.”

The Bulldogs were moving the ball downfield in the last minute of the game. They needed a touchdown to tie the game, but A-J’s Dallas Marks intercepted quarterback Drew Kordy’s pass near midfield after the defense put a lot of pressure on him before throwing the ball. There was a good reason why the third down pass was off the mark.

Detering said A-J’s Damian Reed put pressure on Kordy. That pressure meant that Kordy “couldn’t get the ball out there.”

Wildcat quarterback Jay Kemp then dropped to his knee twice to run down the remaining time on the clock.

A-J appeared to take control of the game early after its defense forced Sparta to punt on its opening possession of the game.

The Wildcats’ first drive was aided by a facemask penalty by the Bulldogs and long pass from quarterback Jay Kemp to Taylor Anderson. Reed then scored on a 1-yard run.

Sparta then jumped offside on the extra-point kick attempt, moving the ball closer to the goal line. Kemp was then able to run the ball into the endzone for a two-point conversion to give A-J a 8-0 lead with 9:03 remaining in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs were forced to punt again on their next possession. Kemp connected with Zane DeWitt four plays later on a 12-yard touchdown pass.

DeWitt gave the Wildcats a 15-0 first quarter lead after he kicked the extra point. Dakota Earnhart is the usual kicker but was unable to be at the football game because he was playing in a soccer game.

A-J scored again late in the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Reed on the ninth play of the drive.  After DeWitt’s extra-point kick, the Wildcats led 22-0 with 4:46 remaining in the first half.

Sparta’s Gabe Yearian had a good return on the ensuing kickoff. After a short drive, Kordy scored on a 2-yard run. Kordy then completed a pass to Shaun Rogers for the 2-point conversion. A-J led 22-8 with 34 seconds reamaining in the first half.

The Bulldogs then attempted an onside kick but the Wildcats recovered the ball near midfield.

Kemp connected with Wyatt Goddard four plays later on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining until halftime. DeWitt’s extra-point kick gave A-J a 29-8 halftime lead.

“That touchdown before  half was big,” Detering said. The A-J coach said Kemp “made a nice read and did a good job.”

The Wildcats received the kickoff to begin the second half. The drive stalled after A-J was stopped on a fourth-down-and-short-yardage-play near midfield.

“We had the ball coming out at half and should have been able to put them away,” Detering said. “They stopped us and that gave them a little momentum. We had the opportunities to put them away and didn’t do it."

Aided by a late hit penalty against A-J, Sparta scored on a 3-yard run by Kordy on the third play of their next drive. Kordy completed a pass to Yearian for the 2-point conversion. The Wildcats’ lead was cut to 29-16 with 7:02 remaining in the third quarter.

A-J’s next drive stalled after an incomplete pass, giving possession of the ball back to the Bulldogs.

Kordy scored again after a long drive on a 2-yard run. Seth Ferguson’s successful 2-point conversion run cut the Wildcats’ lead to 29-24 with 1:27 remaining in the third quarter.

Kemp threw several incomplete passes in the third quarter that halted drives.

“I don’t know whether it was because he was off a week. We didn’t make plays we needed to make,” Detering said. Kemp missed the previous week’s game because of an injury.

Reed had a good return on the following kickoff. The drive ended after A-J fumbled near the goal line, giving possession back to Sparta.

The two teams traded punts before the Wildcats began a drive deep in their own territory. Another A-J fumble gave the ball back to Sparta.

Kordy scored two plays later on a 15-yard run. The 2-point conversion attempt failed when a run by Kordy was stopped. Sparta was up 30-29 with 8:06 remaining in the game.

Collin Prather and the Wildcats’ kick return team answered the challenge on the kickoff. Prather was returned the ball to near midfield.

Reed scored eight plays later on a 7-yard run. DeWitt’s extra-point kick gave the lead back to A-J at 36-30 with 4:28 remaining in the game.

The Wildcat defense stepped up to seal the win.

“As well as we played the first half, we played equally as bad in the second half,” Detering said. “But the kids showed some resilience in coming back.”

Reed was A-J’s leading rusher with 199 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns. Kemp added 51 yards on 12 carries.

Kemp was 8 of 17 passing for 138 yards. The Wildcats’ top receiver was DeWitt with 46 yards on 4 receptions. Goddard caught 2 passes for 29 yards, Mixen caught 1 pass for 36 yards and Reed caught 1 pass for 27 yards.