The Drew Central Pirates came into Friday’s contest needing to defeat the Dollarway Cardinals by 13 points and needed some help from other teams in the conference in order to keep their playoff hopes intact.
The Pirates hoped for an upset win between Barton and Rison at Barton. If Barton would have been successful it would have ensured the Pirates a playoff spot. However, Rison was able to score twice in the fourth quarter to overcome the Bears 29-16.
The Pirates also needed the Lakeside Beavers to lose to Camden Harmony Grove in Lake Village.
Lakeside played the Hornet's close through the first half, but Camden was able to walk out of Lake Village with a 64-41 win.
The Pirates would have to defeat Dollarway to maintain a three-way tie for the fourth and fifth playoff spots in the 6-3A.
Drew Central would win the coin toss and elected to receive the football.
Gabe Butcher received the Cardinal kick at the Pirate 15-yard line and advanced the ball into Cardinal territory to the Dollarway 48 to begin the first drive of the contest.
Kade Bodiford’s first pass of the contest would fall incomplete.
Drew Central would go to the ground on the next several plays with Brayden Millett advancing to the 38, Ja’Corrian Love gaining to the 34, Millett to the 25, Tramond Miller to the seven, and Millett for the seven-yard score.
Bodiford connected with Millett for the two-point play to give the Pirates an 8-0 lead with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter.
Dollarway would begin their first drive of the game on their own 35 after a 15-yard kickoff return.
The Pirate defense would force Dollarway to punt on the drive with Drew Central starting their next drive on their own 34 after the punt.
Bodiford completed a pass to Luke Phillips for a 13-yard gain followed by an offsides penalty against Dollarway that moved the ball across mid-field.
Collins would get the ball on the next two carries, advancing the ball to the 40 then to the 27. Bodiford connected with Tramond Miller to the nine-yard line.
Bodiford completed his next pass to Ashton Kelly in the back of the end zone for the touchdown at the 6:40 mark.
After the failed two-point play, the Pirates increased the lead to 14-0.
Drew Central’s defense would halt the Cardinal offense on the next drive, forcing the Cardinals to turn the ball over on downs on their own 44.
The Pirates would get their final score of the first quarter after Bodiford broke free for a 34-yard touchdown run.
After the two-point run by Millett, the Pirates led 22-0.
Dollarway would advance the ball into Drew Central territory on their next drive on a 42-yard pass, however Drew Central’s Nick Bailey would recover a Cardinal fumble on the five-yard line on the next play to stop the Dollarway drive.
The Pirate drive would extend into the second quarter where the Pirates turned the ball over on a fumble but would regain possession after forcing Dollarway to punt with 6:03 remaining in the half.
Beginning their drive at their own 20-yard line, the Pirates would advance the ball into Dollarway territory in four plays to the Dollarway 43.
Love would take the ball down to the 20-yard line followed by Miller advancing the ball to the five.
Millett covered the five yard on the next carry for the Drew Central score with Collins adding the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 30-0 with 3:17 left in the half.
The Pirates would score with 2:06 remaining in the half after an interception return for 39-yards. The two-point play failed to give the Pirates a 36-0 lead.
The Pirate defense would force Dollarway to punt one final time in the first half with the snap going over the punters head giving Drew Central possession on the Dollarway 10-yard line with 17 seconds remaining in the half.
On the next play of the game, Kade Bodiford connected with his younger brother, Jeremiah Bodiford, on what was deemed by Pirate Head Coach Larry White as the “Bodiford to Bodiford connection” with 11 seconds remainig in the half. Millett added the two points to give Drew Central a 44-0 lead at the half, forcing a running clock to start the second half.
Beginning the second half under the sportsmanship rule, the Pirates would force a turnover on Dollarway's first drive of the second half after Luke Phillips recovered a fumble at the Pirate 39.
Going strictly with a running attack, Drew Central advanced the ball down to the Dollarway six-yard line in six plays.
Luke Phillips would carry the ball the remainder of the way for the Pirate score with Dorian Harris adding the two-point conversion with 4:16 left in the third quarter, extending the lead to 52-0.
Drew Central recovered a fumble on the Dollarway eight on the next possession and with 10:20 remaining in the contest extended the lead to 60-0 after an eight-yard run by Dayton England and the conversion by Millett.
Dollarway would end the shutout with a 40-yard touchdown run by Dmarion Wallce and an added two-point play by Keonte Culclager made the score 60-8 which would be the final score of the contest.
Defensively, the Pirates were able to shut down the Dollarway offense, holding the Cardinals to 89 total offensive yards.
Offensively, the Pirates were able to gain a total of 400 offensive yards.
Kade Bodiford completed six of none passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns.
On the ground, Brayden Millett led the Pirates with 108 yard on 12 carries, scoring two touchdowns and three two-point conversions.
Bodiford added a rushing touchdown with 37 rushing yards, Kalani Collins gained 37, JaCorrian Love with 60. Tramond Miller with 42, Dorian Harris with 24, Ashton Kelly with 12, Dayton England with eight and a touchdown, and Luke Phillips with six and a touchdown.
Miller led the Pirates in receiving yards with 40 with Kelly having nine yards and a touchdown and Jeremiah Bodiford with 10 yards and a score.
Playoff Implications
With the final games set for the regular season, Drew Central and the Monticello Billies are still in the playoff hunt.
For Monticello, the Billies lost to Star City this past Friday 56-21 after trailing the Bulldogs by seven, 28-21 at the half.
For Monticello the playoffs came down to one game, defeating Crossett in the final game of the season to claim the fifth and final playoff spot out of the 8-4A.
The Billies will travel to Crossett on Thursday, November 3, for a 7 pm kickoff.
For the Pirates, if they defeat Rison on Friday, they would fall into the fourth seed, however, Lake Village and Barton both win and the Pirates will be out. Barton will host Camden Harmony Grove and Lakeside will travel to Fordyce.
If all three teams lose to their opponents, it will result in a three way tie with all teams having a win over each other and will result in a coin toss to determine the fourth and fifth seeds.
Drew Central will travel to Rison to face the conference leading Rison Wildcats in the final game of the regular season.
If Lakeside defeats Fordyce then the Pirates are out as well.
Kickoff for Drew Central and Rison is set for 7 PM.
BODIFORD TO BODIFORD: Senior Quarterback Kade Bodiford (1) connected with younger brother, sophomore, Jeremiah Bodiford (15) on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining in the first half. After the two-point conversion, the score gave the Pirates a 44-0 lead heading into the half.
JA’CORRIAN LOVE (6) breaks free for positive yards against the Dollarway defense. Love would finish the contest with 60 yards on six carries and was responsible for three first downs.
KALANI COLLINS (7) attempts to leap through the Cardinal defenders. Collins gained 37 yards on six carries with a two-point conversion and three first down runs.
LUKE PHILLIPS (4) runs through a Dollarway defender on a six-yard touchdown run. It was Phillips only carry of the contest.
