FORREST CITY — One week ago Michael Dyer turned in what may have been his best performance of his high school career.
With Little Rock Christian needing a win to simply have a chance at making the 5A state playoffs, the Auburn commitment ran for 221 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Warriors to victory in front of a nationally televised game.
On Friday, there were no television cameras but the stakes were just as high.
Little Rock Christian upset the 5A-East’s top seed Forrest City in a 29-27 victory at Mustang Field. The Warriors will travel to Greenbrier next week, after the Panthers defeated Little Rock Mills 42-35.
Little Rock Christian running back Michael Dyer looks for an opening during Friday night's 5A state playoff game. (Photo by Chris Graddy)
“You just have to keep plugging and do what you can do,” Little Rock Christian coach Justin Kramer said. “We can only control what we can control and hopefully everything else will take care of itself.”
The Warriors season remained in doubt until the 2:11 mark of the fourth quarter. Up 29-27, Little Rock Christian went 3-and-out after stopping the Mustangs on the previous drive by intercepting a pass in the end zone to quell the scoring attack.
However, Forrest City’s defense stepped up and sacked Little Rock Christian quarterback Jesse Stone on third down to give the to setup a punting situation on fourth down, but the Mustang offense would never get a chance to lineup.
The Warrior punt sailed into Mustang territory, took one hop and bounced off a Forrest City player and into the arms of a Little Rock Christian player. From that point the Warriors ran out the clock with a heavy dose of Dyer and a couple of kneel downs to clinch the victory.
“It is certainly a hard way to lose,” Forrest City coach Rich Trail said. “We had our opportunities. I am proud of my guys and what they have accomplished this season. To come out on top in this conference is something to be proud of.”
Forrest City had success early throwing to its two big receivers. Larry Rogers, who stands at 6-foot-3, and Davyon McKinney, who is 6-foot-2, each had big first halves thanks to their height.
Forrest City wide receiver Larry Rogers hauls a catch in front of a Little Rock Christian defensive back on Friday. (Photo by Chris Graddy)
Rogers hauled in a 30-yard touchdowns reception for Barrett Astin in the first quarter by simply out jumping his defender. McKinney scored on a 81-yard strike from Astin in the second quarter and out ran the entire Little Rock Christian team to give the Mustangs a 21-15 lead with 10:51 left in the second quarter.
“We had a tough time covering those receivers,” Kramer said. “Those cats can flat out play.”
Little Rock Christian swung momentum back in its favor late in the second quarter when it recovered a fumble on a very unusual play.
Astin attempted to throw a wide receiver screen pass to Rogers, who dropped the ball but because the throw went behind the quarterback the ball was still live. Rogers picked up the ball and tossed back to Astin, who realized the play had not been blown dead and ran up field before fumbling as he was being tackled.
The Warriors recovered the fumble and capitalized by scoring on a fourth-and-12 play when Stone hit Dyer on a screen pass for a 35-yard touchdown. The Warriors converted on the extra-point to take a 22-21 lead with 3:41 to go before halftime.
Dyer scored his second touchdown of the night on the Warriors’ first play of the second half when found room up the middle and scampered 70-yards for the score to push the lead to 29-21. He finished the night with 213 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries and also had three receptions for 51 yards and a score.
From that point on the Little Rock Christian defense was solid. It forced Forrest City to punt on all three of its drives in the third quarter. Its only blemish was giving up a 3-yard touchdown run to Devin Green with 11:10 left in the game that closed the gap to 29-27. However, the Warrior stood strong on the two-point conversion attempt to maintain its lead.
Little Rock Christian quarterback Jesse Stone looks down field during Friday night's game against Forres City. (Photo by Chris Graddy)
“The defense was just awesome in the second half,” Kramer said. “Especially the front four. They were able to get a little bit of pressure on their quarterback, which meant we didn’t have to cover those receivers for so long.”
Little Rock Christian opened the game by utilizing its passing game. Dyer touchdown the ball just two times on the Warriors opening drive, which was capped by a 7-yard touchdown run from Stone.
Forrest City was able to answer with a touchdown pass to Rogers, but the Warriors once again found success through the air when Stone hit Bud Thomas for a 7-yard touchdown pass to put Little Rock Christian back on top.
The extra-point attempt turned into one of the biggest plays of the night for the Warriors. A low snap caused the holder to take off with the ball and hit Mason Gibbons, who was falling out of the corner of the end zone, for the two-point try. The points proved crucial in the final two-point margin victory for the Warriors.
“I wish I could say that was a called fake but it was a botch,” Kramer said. “We are pretty vanilla and we don’t do a lot of trick stuff. It was a botch from the start, but it ended up being a pretty big deal.”
Stone finished the night 14-of-17 passing for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas hauled in five catches for 26 yards and a touchdown.
For Forrest City Astin, who verbally committed to play baseball for the University of Arkansas baseball team earlier in the week, was 11-of-21 passing for 255 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Green finished with a 145 yards rushing and one touchdown on 14 carries.
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