BEEBE — A typically stout defensive front met its match Friday night in White County.
Pine Bluff High School fell 35-12 to Beebe at A.S. “Bro” Erwin Stadium. Beebe (4-2, 2-1 in 5A-Central) senior running back Curtis Goodrich carried the ball 37 times for 221 yards and three touchdowns, one each in the first, third and fourth quarters. He also threw a touchdown pass on a trick play, meaning he was involved in four of Beebe’s five touchdowns.
Acting Pine Bluff (1-5, 1-2) head coach Tyrone Jones said Goodrich, who is listed at 5-foot-6, is a powerful runner.
“He runs tough,” Jones said. “He hits the hole real good. He’s very short, so his center of gravity is hard to bring down. So, if he can run through arm tackles, you got problems. You got to stop him on his initial surge, and we didn’t do a real good job of that.”
The Zebras entered the game allowing 32.5 rushing yards per game against Conference 5A Central opponents. Beebe finished with 219 yards, mostly due to Goodrich. Three other players carried the ball a combined five times for -2 yards. Pine Bluff junior Cordale Guy tallied two sacks for 19 yards.
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Beebe never trailed and led 14-12 at halftime after a touchdown run by Goodrich and a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ty McCormick to senior Kameron Johnson.
The Zebra defense gave Pine Bluff its first points. Beebe led 7-0 early in the second quarter and was threatening to add to that lead. On third down and goal from the 10-yard line, Pine Bluff senior linebacker Mario Jones intercepted a deflected pass at the goal line and ran it back 100 yards for a defensive touchdown. Beebe remained in front, 7-6, after a missed extra point. Jones said the defensive score was huge for the team.
“Mario Jones, he been doing that this whole year,” Jones said. “That’s our third interception. It was crucial. We needed it. They was going in to score. He came up with a big play, and he went 100 yards with it.”
The Zebras’ other score came in the final minute of the first half. After Beebe had extended its lead to 14-6 and failed to recover an onside kick, Pine Bluff started its final drive of the half at midfield. The Zebras’ starting quarterback, Jamar Morrow, was hurt early in the drive, which began with 2:31 remaining in the half. In his place, wide receiver Dedrick Dunn stepped up and delivered a 32-yard pass to Rashawn Reed on the next play, and the sophomore came down with a highly contested catch to get the Zebras to the 5-yard line.
Four plays later, Dunn found Kevin Pope for a 4-yard touchdown. The 2-point try fell incomplete, allowing Beebe to remain in front at halftime.
Jones said Dunn’s ability to step into the quarterback role in a pinch is something the Zebras can build on down the road.
“Both of them are sophomores,” Jones said. “It’s something we can really look to the future for. Dunn is as good. He’s probably not quite as accurate right now, but that’s going to come. We feel safe with both of them, so if Morrow goes down, Dunn is the very next one we’re going to that’s going to carry us through this thing.”
Beebe started the second half with another onside kick, this one recovered by senior kicker Andy Rodriguez. Goodrich needed two carries to go the 47 yards to the end zone to extend the lead. He went on to throw a 1-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter to junior T.A. Lewis after the Zebras stopped him on back-to-back goal line runs.
This has been a challenging week for Pine Bluff. Jones coached the Zebras in this game after head coach Micheal Williams was removed from his position pending an investigation by the school district. Jones said he agreed to be the acting head coach because he is committed to these student-athletes.
“Pine Bluff High School gonna play football regardless of what the circumstances, regardless of if I’m doing it or someone else,” Jones said. “So, once you get them to understand that and buy in to that, then the rest of it is execution.”