Sports: Lumberjacks Punch Their Card to Final

Senior tailback Dennis Daniels puts on a show of speed and cutting ability.

In the words of former Lumberjack great Kilay Cox who was working as the commentator for lumberjacklive on the NFHS network Friday night when the Jacks traveled over four hours to play Prairie Grove in the semi-final game in the 4A State Playoffs, "The Lumberjacks are playing football tonight!"

Quarterback Hayden Lassiter keeps the ball for the Jacks.

Sophomore J'Malachi Kinnard and Junior Psavian Person
hunt down a Tiger.

Warren won the toss and received the opening kickoff before a packed stadium with standing room only. The Jacks scored quickly when quarterback Hayden Lassiter threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Treylon Burks. The extra point by Sergio Yepes was good giving the Jacks a 7-0 lead.

Warren stopped the Tigers and got the ball back. Lassiter threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Keemontrea McKnight. Again, Yepes made the extra point and put the Jacks up 14-0.

The Tigers were forced to punt, and the Jacks took over on their own 31-yard line. On Prairie Grove's 44-yard line, Lassiter connected with Treylon Burks for a touchdown, putting the Jacks up 20-0. Yepes made the extra point, and the Jacks went up 21-0 in the first quarter with 4:16 to go.

Warren's defense swarms to the ball.

Early in the second quarter on the 41-yard line of the Tigers, Lassiter hit McKnight for 41-yard Lumberjack touchdown. The extra point by Yepes was good. The Jacks moved ahead 28-0.

The offensive line blocked well all night.

The Tigers answered with a touchdown pass from the 35-yard line of the Jacks. Their extra point was good leaving the score at 28-7 with 7:58 left in the half. After a Lumberjack pass was tipped and intercepted, the Tigers scored on a one-yard run with 20 seconds left in the half, cutting the Lumberjack lead to 28-14 as the half ended.

Junior Wallace Smith has his eye on the Tiger.

At the 8:15 mark of the third quarter, Warren added another touchdown with Lassiter keeping the ball. Yepes's extra point was again good. Jacks went up 35-14. With 4:56 left in the third quarter, Prairie Grove scored on a touchdown pass. The extra point attempt was no good. This brought the score to 35-20. Prairie Grove tried an on-side kick, which Braden Hargis covered at the 48-yard line.

With about three minutes left in the third quarter, Lassiter again connected with Burks for a 38-yard touchdown pass. With a low snap on the extra-point attempt, holder Hayden Lassiter scooped up the ball and attempted to gain two points. The 2-point conversion was no good and the score was 41-20.

Treylon Burks goes in for another Lumberjack touchdown.

Lassiter hit Burks for a 39-yard pass to give the Lumberjacks another touchdown. Yepes made the extra point putting the Jacks up 48-20.

Burks turns on that speed!

The Tigers scored one final touchdown on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter. They successfully made a 2-point conversion bringing the score to 48-28.

Braden Hargis moves down the line.

There were numerous Lumberjack players who made big plays throughout the game. Luke Gorman played an outstanding game on kickoff coverage, making several big tackles. Cade Reep made a big play when he delivered a knock-out block that sprung Hayden Lassiter for a first down late in the game. The defensive line and linebackers played well. The Person brothers, Byron and Psavian, put on a show at linebacker making tackles. The defensive secondary led by Carrington Gilbert and D'Shawn Jackson made play after play on defense. Braden Hargis made several clutch catches during the game. The entire offensive and defensive lines were solid all night.

Lassiter threw for six touchdown passes and scored one touchdown. Trelon Burks scored four touchdowns, and Keemontrae McKnight scored two. Daniels rushed for 87 yards, making big plays when the Jacks needed them.

Lassiter was 19 out of 23 passing, had 439 yards with 6 touchdowns, one interception. He carried the ball 8 times for 33 yards. Daniels carried the ball 14 times for 87 yards. Burks had a total of 8 catches for 203 yards. McKnight had 6 catches for 172 yards.

The Jacks will play for the 4A State Championship at 7:00 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock against Pea Ridge Friday, December 9. We anticipate a large crowd and encourage all fans to attend the game. However, the game will be carried live on lumberjacklive.