OVERTIME THRILLER

Lakeside gave up a late lead over McClellan Friday night at Chick Austin Field but rallied in overtime for a 21-20 win on senior night that kept it in the driver's seat for the 5A South Conference title. Junior quarterback Will Ross found classmate Daniel Gaston on a fade route for his third touchdown pass of the night to tie the score at 20 after the Rams' first overtime possession, setting up sophomore kicker Andrew Degrasse's game-winning extra point. Jeremiah Aikins' 10-yard touchdown run on the Crimson Lions' first overtime play had put them ahead 20-14 and capped a run of 14 unanswered points. The Rams (7-2, 5-1) seemed to have the game in hand after Ross completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to junior Will Perrigo midway through the third quarter, and a 23-yard screen pass to sophomore Chase Cross for a touchdown with 5:42 to play. McClellan snuffed out the screen, but Cross eluded a pride of Crimson Lions behind the line of scrimmage to put the Rams up 14-6 after Degrasse's extra point. His 36-yard run on a reverse on Lakeside's opening play of the second half set up Perrigo's touchdown catch that gave the Rams their first lead of the night, 7-6, with 8:50 to play in the third quarter. Sophomore quarterback Joshua Brown rallied McClellan (4-5, 2-4) in the fourth quarter, hitting Brandon Williams for a 50-yard completion down the boundary for the Crimson Lions' only pass completion of the night. Three plays later, Jordan Harris took a direct snap in from the 2-yard line to cut the score to 14-12 with 2:16 to play and converted a 2-point try to tie the game. Brown's 82-yard keeper around the left side was the lone offensive spark in a first half dominated by defense. He had a game high 145 rushing yards on 14 carries. Lakeside managed a scant 55 yards of offense in its five first half possessions, with two drives netting negative yardage. A 14-play, 65-yard drive was its most productive series of the half. Taking advantage of McClellan's loose zone coverage, Ross converted two third downs by completing short passes in front of the coverage to junior Logan White. He also hit Perrigo out of the backfield on a middle screen. The 12-yard completion was Lakeside's longest play of the half. The drive stalled in the red zone when Perrigo caught a pass in heavy traffic just short of the line to gain on fourth down with 1:31 to play in the first quarter. Ross attempted to stretch the zone on the next two series but was unable to connect on several shot plays. Aikins ended the third series with an interception, dropping underneath a crossing route and setting the Crimson Lions up at the Ram 24 with 9:49 to play in the half. Lakeside defended the short field, forcing a punt after McClellan went three and out. Lakeside's defense was led by senior and sophomore defensive ends Riley Benton and Steven Cummins, both of whom registered multiple tackles for loss. Sophomore safety Chance Cross was also active, recovering a third quarter fumble forced by Chase Norwood. Austin Brooks and Chris Killian also made stops in the Crimson Lion backfield.

Little Rock School District Athletics

OVERTIME THRILLER

Photo Credit: McClellan Magnet High School Athletics