Berryville drops sixth straight, returns home for season finale

"I thought we played as well as we have played all year," Daniel said. "They played well on both sides of the ball."

The Bobcats, 1-7 overall and 0-6 in 1-3A, fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter before Deonte Payton found a hole and raced 22 yards to the end zone to put Berryville on the board. Payton's dash followed quarterback Garrett Stone breaking free for a 60-yard gain to set up the score.

"They had us stopped on a 3rd-and-8 and Garrett took off for a big run," Daniel said. "That kind of got us going then Deonte took it in on the next play."

Selvin Reyes kicked a 29-yard field goal in the early moments of the second quarter to draw Berryville to within four points at 14-10 but the Lions (4-5, 3-3) roared back with their third touchdown to take a 20-10 lead. Reyes answered again with a 38-yard effort to cut the deficit to 20-13 but it was as close as the Cats would get.

The Lions went up 27-13 early in the third but Ethan Chapin answered the call with a 3-yard touchdown run to maintain the 7-point gap. However, Gravette scored one final time in the final stanza to close the door.

"They kept feeding the ball to their big tailback and we had a hard time slowing him down," Daniel said. "They were doing what we like to do which is three yards at a time. We started taking chances, blitzing and sending multiple guys. But he broke one and put the game away there late."

The Bobcats racked up 325 yards of total offense with Stone leading the running game with 11 carries for 102 yards. Chapin tallied 86 yards on 13 carries while Payton added 53 yards on 12 totes. Tyler Coatney chipped in eight carries for 18 yards.

Stone completed 4-of-12 passes for 42 yards while Cody Powell was good on 1-of-5 attempts for eight yards.

Tate Ferguson led the receivers with two catches for 33 yards, Reyes and Avery Logan caught one for seven yards apiece and Chapin hauled in an 8-yard effort.

Jerry Valdez led the defense with eight solo stops and eight assists, including two for a loss. Alec Jones had five solos and six assists, Edgar Camarillo added six solos and two assists, one for a loss, and Blake McCullough had five solos and three assists. McCullough added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Kraig Kendrick added three solos and three assists, Chapin had two tackles for loss and Trevor McCullough chipped in with a sack.

The Bobcats wrap up the season this week with a home date against Pea Ridge (8-1, 5-1). Daniel said he hopes to see the same effort as he did against Gravette.

"Now would be the time," he said. "They are good. They are huge. I think they have the best back in the league. Prairie Grove has two good guys and you never know which one is going to get it. With Pea Ridge, they are going to give it to (Dayton Winn) and he still runs all over the place."