WHITE HALL — Down 7-0 to Hot Springs Lakeside in the second quarter, it took White Hall a little while to get cooking on offense.
So, the Bulldogs turned to Tim Cook.
The senior running back and linebacker accounted for all of White Hall’s touchdowns — four rushing and one on defense — in a 38-21 victory over Lakeside on Friday night in a 5A state quarterfinal game. White Hall qualified for its first state semifinal game since 1991 and will play at Batesville, a 16-6 winner over Greenbrier, next Friday.
The Bulldogs (9-3), who have won nine straight games, avenged a 26-3 season-opening loss at Lakeside in a big way.
“I knew we were probably going to play them again,” Cook said. “Once I knew we would play them again, I played my heart out.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Cook finished with 181 yards on 30 carries, with 160 of them coming on 25 second-half rushes. His longest run of the night was a 52-yard touchdown in the third quarter to put the Bulldogs ahead 31-14, breaking free on what should have been a short third-and-3 carry.
Lakeside (10-2) pulled within 10 early in the fourth quarter by recovering a blocked punt in the end zone, but Cook put the game to bed with 4:23 left with his fourth rushing TD of the night from a yard out. That run capped a 16-play, 80-yard drive melting more than seven minutes off the clock.
Lakeside coach Jared McBride said Thursday he would have to prepare his team for a different Bulldogs squad from the one Lakeside beat to open the season. This White Hall team produced much more offense, outgaining Lakeside 453-228 in total yards.
“I don’t know how that team has lost a game all year,” McBride said. “Honest to God, that team should be forever-and-0. They’re a really good football team and they were better than we are tonight.”
White Hall coach Mike Vaughn credited his bunch’s character for helping them string together nine straight wins.
“Some teams have characters and others have character,” he said. “When we were down and out, after the first three games, we had a big meeting about that one thing. You (the seniors) had one of two choices, (because) you’re not going to be back next year: Bow up, start playing hard, believe in what you’re doing, don’t quit, and things will turn around. Or just lay down and let it take you. I never did think they would lay down.”
The Rams, however, tried to make like it was Week 1 and set the tone with their ground game. Garrett Garner gained 57 yards on a first-quarter run to set up Ajalen Holley’s 5-yard scoring scamper to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.
Garner led Lakeside with 85 yards on seven carries, all in the first half.
Cook broke two tackles on an 8-yard run with 5:32 left before halftime to tie the game at 7. After Holley threw a go-ahead 11-yard scoring pass to Scott Cole on the next drive, the Bulldogs struck back with a 35-yard kickoff return by Quinten Winston and a 34-yard pass from Nathan Lee to Percy Arnold that led to a 4-yard TD run by Cook with 2:13 left. Terrance Warren then ran for the extra two points out of the swinging gate formation to give the Bulldogs a 15-14 lead.
White Hall’s defense came up with big stops, forcing three incomplete passes by sophomore Garrett Carson on the next drive. Two plays after Michael Lydon intercepted Lee, Cook picked off Carson and sprinted 35 yards down the Lakeside sideline to push the lead to 22-14 with 1:01 left.
The Bulldogs made it 24-14 early in the third when Holley had to recover a bad snap in the end zone.
Lee completed 9 of 23 passes for 190 yards. Jeremy Sprinkle caught five passes for 104 yards, and Arnold pulled down two for 70 yards.
Carson completed 5 of 18 passes for 78 yards with two interceptions, facing heavy pressure from the Bulldog defense.
“We knew we had to shut them down,” White Hall defensive tackle Shelby Lackey said.