BISMARCK — A season of storylines led to a postseason Fordyce Coach Tim Rodgers said last week would go through Booneville.
Once Fordyce dispatched the defending state champion last Friday, the road took the Redbugs to a team that, until Friday night, had never played in a semifinal — Bismarck. And the Lions welcomed them with tough defense and takeaways — five to be exact — in a 49-12 win.
The win put Bismarck (13-0) in its first-ever state championship against Salem, a 38-20 winner over Mansfield. The 3A title game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 14.
“It’s one of those things you’re never going to match this year of coaching,” seventh-year Bismarck Coach Daniel Keithley said. “My son is a senior. My second-oldest son is a junior. We’re having the best year in Bismarck history and going to play in Little Rock. It’s never going to compare after this.”
Quarterback Ben Keithley accounted for four of Bismarck’s touchdowns. He ran 21 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns and completed 9 of 18 for 106 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions.
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Ben’s brother, Caedmon, had a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Fordyce (13-1), playing in its first semifinal since making three straight 2A title games from 2019-21 (winning in 2019 and 2020), ended a season in which the Redbugs exceeded expectations with a young club.
“I was proud of them the way we did,” Rodgers said. “I thought we had a good season. We were doing good there, and then our quarterback (freshman Andreal ‘Cadillac’ Ellison Jr.) got hurt there (in the second round against Jessieville). We kind of stepped up and had people take up the slack. We had a couple of good games against Jessieville and Booneville, but it kind of caught up with us, all the things that could go wrong that went wrong. Losing our quarterback really hurt us and limited our offense.”
Turnovers uncharacteristically hindered the Redbugs, who lost three of four fumbles and were picked off twice (by Caedmon Keithley and Ethan Hughes). The Lions, who had four turnovers of their own, held the Redbugs to 164 total yards while collecting 251.
“We heard all week that we couldn’t hang and hadn’t seen a team that’s got that kind of speed,” Daniel Keithley said. “We kind of took that and had a little chip on our shoulder. We were going to come out and stop that.”
Fordyce’s Keilin Ellison fumbled the return on the opening kickoff, and Enrico Sprolls recovered for Bismarck at the Redbugs’ 24, one of seven Bismarck drives that began in Fordyce territory. Ben Keithley capitalized two plays later, throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Preston Hughes.
Johnny Diaz’s 1-yard plunge at the 3:43 mark put the Lions ahead 14-0, the first time Fordyce had trailed by at least two possessions in the postseason.
The Redbugs punted on their first three carries but finally earned a takeaway late in the period when Brenton Sledge intercepted Ben Keithley and returned it 43 yards into Bismarck territory. Fordyce turned the ball over on downs but caught another break when JaMarcus Cranford picked off Ben Keithley and returned it 33 yards to the Bismarck 42.
This time, the Redbugs took advantage with a little trickery. Sledge threw a halfback pass to Jamartez Stroud for a 41-yard touchdown play at the 6:16 mark before halftime. Bismarck stopped a Sledge run on the 2-point attempt to leave the score 14-6.
Bismarck defensive end Lucas Chapman forced quarterback Zavier Jones to fumble away at the Fordyce 13, and Ben Keithley ran around right end on the next play to bump the lead to 21-6 with 3:19 to go. Caedmon Keithley picked off Jones on the next possession.
Tramane Turner picked off Ben Keithley with 6:27 left in the third quarter, only for Ethan Hughes to return the favor on fourth-and-15 for a touchback. The Redbugs recovered a Lions fumble, and Jones extended a play to find Jamartez Stroud on a 33-yard touchdown reception to draw within 21-12 with 1:45 left in the quarter.
Things snowballed against the Redbugs on an otherwise clear-but-cold night in the fourth quarter. Bismarck extended the lead on Johnny Diaz’s 34-yard reception from Ben Keithley on the first play of the period. Fordyce then fumbled in the end zone on its next offensive play from the 1, making it 35-12. Caedmon and Ben Keithley then added short touchdown runs, with Ben’s 1-yard plunge at the 4:59 mark enacting a running clock.
“It was kind of a perfect storm for us,” Rodgers said. “Everything that could have went wrong for us, went wrong for us. I guess it finally caught up with us. The last couple of games, we had been making mistakes and got by with it, but tonight we played a real good team we couldn’t make all the mistakes against, and we did tonight. It turned out pretty bad for us.”
Bismarck defensive back Preston Hughes (3) breaks up a pass intended for Fordyce receiver Jamartez Stroud as defensive back Ben Keithley is in on the play Friday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Bismarck. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)