Each team had one star stand out Tuesday night when White Hall hosted Stuttgart for a football benefit game at Bulldog Stadium.
White Hall senior running back Kylon Davis and Stuttgart sophomore quarterback Cain Price led their respective teams. Davis and the Bulldogs started the game strong, but Price led a Ricebird resurgence in the second quarter.
The two teams played their starters in the first half, which was played with normal 12-minute quarters, though without kickoffs. The junior varsity players took over in the second half.
Davis scored twice in the first quarter, leading White Hall to a 14-3 advantage entering the second. He carried the ball four times on the opening drive, scoring the night’s first points on a 4-yard run. He ran the ball another four times on the Bulldogs’ next drive. The first three runs all went for 11 or more yards, while his final carry of the quarter was a 1-yard touchdown.
He finished the varsity half with 96 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. White Hall Coach Daryl Patton said he got what he expected from Davis.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“That’s how he’s practiced all through spring ball, summer, team camps,” Patton said. “He runs really well inside. He’s a one-cut runner, north and south, and he’s got the ability to make you miss, too. I thought he played well.”
The Ricebirds took over in the second quarter. Price found sophomore running back Braylon Tolliver wide open down the left sideline on the quarter’s first play for a 56-yard touchdown.
Price gave Stuttgart its first lead on the Ricebirds’ next drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Keonte Clark, then padded the lead with a 22-yard pass to sophomore Keaton Byers.
Price completed 11 of 15 passes in the varsity half for 226 yards and three touchdowns. Clark was his leading receiver, catching five passes for 129 yards and a score. He was the only Ricebird starter with multiple receptions, including catches for 30, 47 and 48 yards.
Stuttgart Coach Josh Price said his quarterback had a few misses but otherwise played well.
“For his first game, didn’t turn the football over, very pleased with that,” the coach said. “Made some plays with his feet when things broke down. And another thing, too, he had a couple of fourth down balls that I was very pleased to see him and our receivers make those catches.”
Stuttgart led White Hall 22-14 at halftime despite a failed two-point conversion and a bad snap on an extra point. The Ricebirds also missed a 36-yard field goal with 15 seconds left thanks to another bad snap.
After scoring on its first two drives, White Hall missed a 42-yard field goal. The Ricebirds then stopped the Bulldogs twice on fourth down.
Patton said the White Hall defense made some mistakes after getting the early lead, but he is glad they happened in a benefit game rather than during the season.
“They’re a lot of the things we’ve been saying defensively for the last couple of weeks about eyes,” Patton said. “Sometimes, you have to learn the hard way. So, to do it in a game, now we can go back and show them on film. We can correct it and teach it.”
White Hall opens the regular season at Sheridan on Aug. 30, while Stuttgart travels to Lonoke the same day.
Stuttgart quarterback Cain Price prepares to throw a pass during Tuesday’s benefit game at White Hall. (Special to the Commercial/William Harvey)