Pulaski Academy Advances To State Championship

Welp, the team that never punts defeated Greenwood 54-24 on Friday to advance to the State Championship. The Pulaski Bruins amassed a shool-record 747 yards of total offense against Greenwood, which ranks third all-time in the state of Arkansas. It didn’t take long for Coach Kelley to whip them out as he successfully ran an onside kick to start the game. The drive stalled on 4th down at the six yard line but the Bruins got the ball right back and scored. They led just 20-17 at the half but scored on their last five possessions to put the game away. Pulaski will face Helena-West Helena Central on Saturday at 6:30 for the State Championship.  Helena-West defeated Pulaski in the first game of the season, 46-29.

Bruins Down Bulldogs to Advance to Championship

11/29/2008
Pulaski Academy punched their ticket to the 5A State Championship game Friday night with a victory over the Greenwood Bulldogs. The Bulldogs had defeated the Bruins in the 2006 State Championship game, 56-55, and ended their season last year in the quarterfinals, 57-50. PA was able to get their monkey off their back with a 54-24 victory at Greenwood’s Smith-Robinson Stadium.

The Bruins amassed a school record 747 yards of offense, which ranks 3rd in the state all-time according to the Arkansas Activities Association’s record book. The defense, though, was the story PA as the much overshadowed crew held Greenwood to 261 total yards and forced 4 turnovers.

Pulaski Academy started the game with a succesful onside kick but stalled on 4th down after reaching the Greenwood 6-yard line. The defense forced a three and out, and the offense would answer with a 4 play 71 yard drive that spanned just 1:21. Will McSpadden would cap the drive with a 25 yard reception and a 9 yard touchdown catch. McSpadden would have a career day as he would finish with 6 receptions for 122 yards. The two point conversion pass from Spencer Keith to DJ Daniel was good to make the score 8-0 with 4:47 left in the 1st quarter.

The defense would again step up with a sack by Arkansas’ single-season sack leader Zeke Tanner that forced a fumble that Tanner himself would recover. The offense would take 5 plays to span the 45 yards with DJ Daniel finishing with a 9-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was no good and the Bruins would lead 14-0 with 2:23 to go in the 1st.

The Bruins defense would force another three-and-out, but the offense would turn the ball over on an interception that setup great field position for the Bulldogs. Greenwood would take just 4 plays to score and half the lead to 14-7.

The offense would answer with an uncharacteristic 5 minute drive (13 plays and 80 yards) that would see Spencer Keith call his own number from 6 yards out. The two-point conversion would again fail as the Bruins would lead 20-7 with 6:14 left in the 2nd quarter.

Greenwood would take a short field and kick a field goal before teams would commit three turnovers in their next three possessions: PA interception, Greenwood fumble, PA interception. Greenwood would then score a touchdown with 50 seconds to go in the half. The Bruins would get down to the Greenwood 8-yard line on their last play of the half. Pulaski Academy would lead 20-17 at the break.

Pulaski Academy took the opening possession of the second half down to the Greenwood 16-yard line before the Bulldogs would hold them on 4th down. That would be the last time the Bruins would be stopped on the night as they would score on their last 5 possessions before taking a knee on their 6th.

The defense forced a three and out and the offense would take over at the Greenwood 40 and take just 4 plays as Keith hit Neal Barlow for an 11-yard strike. Allen Wyatt’s extra point would make the score 27-17 with 7:14 left in the 3rd.

Greenwood would answer quickly for the last time as they would drive 71 yards in 8 plays in just 1:28 to cut the lead to 27-24 with 5:42 left in the third.

Spencer Keith would cap off another drive with a 9-yard run to put the Bruins up by 10 with 1:42 remaining in the 3rd. After a defensive stop on 4th down, the Bruins would score just 2 plays into the 4th quarter with a 5 yard scamper by DJ Daniel for a 41-24 lead.

Pulaski Academy’s Sam Vogel would intercept a pass deflected by fellow defensive back Cody Sanders on just the second play of Greenwood’s next possession. Carson McKnight would finish off the 11 play, 62-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown reception. The drive would last just over 4 minutes and extended the Bruins lead to 48-24.

Another stop followed by an 11-yard touchdown run by DJ Daniel with 5:13 left on the clock would finish off the scoring on the night. Greenwood would turn the ball over on their 2nd play of their last possession with a fumble forced by Sanders and recovered by PA Senior Linebacker Andrew Newell. The Bruins would run out the remaining 5:00 left on the clock.

Spencer Keith had a stellar night for the Bruins as he had 44 completions on 62 attempts for 515 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had 9 carries for 62 yards and 2 more TD’s on the ground. DJ Daniel had 24 carries for 143 yards and 3 touchdowns while Wil Nicks had 7 totes for 26 yards. PA had three receivers with 12 receptions: Neal Barlow (179 yards and a TD), Carson McKnight (108 yards and a TD), and Daniel (70 yards). McSpadden had 122 yards and a touchdown on 6 catches. Three Bruins each had one catch: Wes Pruitt (17 yards), Nicks (14 yards), and Adam Beebe (6 yards).

Carlton Leding and Pete Lowery led the Bruins in tackles with 6. Lowery also had a sack, and Zeke Tanner recorded his 24th and 25th sacks of the season. Cody Sanders had 2 pass breakups, while Lee Bailey, Austin Noonan, and Greyson Skokos each had a a breakup. Lowery, Tanner and Sanders each forced a fumble while Tanner, Newell, and Josh Jones each recovered a fumble. Sam Vogel had his 4th interception on the season.

The Bruins advance to the State Championship where they will face Helena-West Helena Central. The Cougars defeated the Bruins soundly in the season opener at Helena-West Helena, 46-29. The Bruins won the 3A State Championship in 2003 and lost to Greenwood in the state championship in 2006. This will be Helena-West Helena’s first trip to the State Championship. Kickoff will be Saturday, December 6 at 6:30 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

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