A Searcy junior put up a dominant performance Friday night to take down Watson Chapel.
Running back Curtis Goodrich scored five touchdowns to lead the Lions past Watson Chapel 55-14 at Wildcat Stadium in Pine Bluff.
Goodrich rushed 20 times for 121 yards and four touchdowns, while catching one pass for 8 yards and a touchdown.
Watson Chapel (1-3, 0-2 in 5A Central) coach Steven Heard said Goodrich is a tough player to stop, and the rest of his team helps him out.
“He’s got a low center of gravity,” Heard said. “He’s strong. He runs fast. He runs hard, but just give it out to their defense. They’re a complete team. They play hard. They played harder than our guys played in spurts. Once they got us on our heels, hey, snowball effect.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Goodrich scored rushing touchdowns of 3 and 4 yards on Searcy’s first two drives, then caught a pass from quarterback Johnny Bell for an 8-yard score in the second quarter, giving the Lions a 21-0 lead.
Watson Chapel got on the board late in the first half. Searcy got the ball at its own 12-yard line with 1:06 remaining after stopping the Wildcats on fourth down in the red zone. The Lions got aggressive, looking to add to their total before the break.
Searcy (4-1, 2-0) reached its own 33 on its first play, but Watson Chapel senior Kameron Hobbs intercepted a pass on the second play and took it back for a defensive touchdown. He then ran the ball for a successful two-point conversion after a personal foul on the Lions gave Watson Chapel another shot after initially missing the extra point kick.
Heard said Hobbs is one of Watson Chapel’s best athletes.
“He’s a former running back, so I expected him to take the ball and take it the distance,” Heard said. “We try to get him in on offense as much as possible, but since he’s a full-time defensive player, that’s not always the option to have him going both ways.”
Hobbs’ interception was the second straight pick for the Watson Chapel defense after sophomore Tyler Burton intercepted a pass on the drive prior.
The Wildcats trailed 21-8 at halftime and were back in the game, but the Lions quickly pulled away in the third quarter.
Searcy got the ball first, and Goodrich returned the kickoff 38 yards to the Watson Chapel 44-yard line. The Lions scored two plays later on a 42-yard run by Rickey Love.
On the ensuing kickoff, Watson Chapel thought the ball was going to bounce out of bounds. Instead, it bounced back into the field of play, and Zahki Foster recovered for the Lions, setting up another touchdown.
Searcy picked off Watson Chapel on the Wildcats’ second play of the next drive, setting up Goodrich for another touchdown. The Lions went on to score touchdowns on all five of their second-half drives.
Watson Chapel sophomore Kentrell Mason scored on an 8-yard touchdown run on the game’s final play. He led the Wildcats with 18 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards on two catches. Senior quarterback Kassius Hollins completed 16 of 37 passes for 178 yards.
Bell completed 20 of 28 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions.