Freshman football on losing end

Siloam Springs did a good job of playing keep away from Bentonville Gold in the first half of Thursday's ninth grade football game.

But the Panthers could only keep the ball out of the Tigers' hands for so long.

Gold marched 80 yards in the final two minutes of the first half to take a 7-0 lead. The Tigers would tack on three more touchdowns in the second half in a 28-6 victory over the Panthers at Glenn W. Black Stadium.

After Siloam Springs recovered a Gold fumble in the first quarter, the Panthers kept the ball for the rest of the quarter and most of the second as they marched inside the 10-yard line on 22 plays.

Starting at their own 21-yard line, the Panthers faced a second-and-22 when Caleb Ellis rushed for eight yards and quarterback MarQuan Sorrells hit Jacob Ritz for 15 to pick up the first down. Sorrells then rushed for eight yards and Kevin Canales had two runs for 21 yards.

Ellis then rushed 17 to get the ball inside the 10. The Panthers' drive eventually set them back at the 13, and they missed a 30-yard field goal that would have put them up 3-0.

"We felt like we controlled the ball the first half," said Panthers coach Jonathan Johnson. "We did some things offensively that set us back."

Gold took over at that point and traveled 80 yards in just more than two minutes to take a 7-0 lead with 7 seconds left in the half on a four-yard run by Jadyn Loudermilk.

Loudermilk would add a 36-yard TD run in the second half. He finished the night with 13 carries for 141 yards.

Gold quarterback Nathan Lyons -- who completed 7 of 8 passes for 97 yards -- threw a touchdown pass to Ryan Kneeshaw with 5:43 remaining in the game to make it 21-0.

Siloam Springs (0-2) got on the scoreboard for the first time this season with 2:24 remaining when Sorrells scrambled for a 51-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-12.

Tyler Johnson scored for Gold with 2 seconds remaining to set the final score.

Gold finished with 302 yards of offense, while Siloam Springs finished with 156 yards of offense, 134 of which came on the ground.

Canales led the Panthers with 50 yards rushing, while Sorrells had 44 and Ellis 37.

"Overall, I love the kids' improvement from last week," Johnson said, referencing Siloam Springs' season-opening 38-0 loss to Harrison on Sept. 4.

The ninth grade team plays at Rogers Heritage on Thursday. The ninth grade game will begin around 7:30 p.m. at Gates Stadium.

Timberwolves 14, Panthers 6

Bentonville Fulbright's Kyler Bradshaw ran for a 59-yard touchdown run with 1:09 remaining to break a 6-6 tie as the Timberwolves defeated Siloam Springs in the eighth grade game.

Bradshaw also had a 18-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for the game's first touchdown. He finished with 21 carries for 155 yards.

Siloam Springs (1-1) tied the game 6-6 with 3:05 left in the third quarter when Kaiden Thrailkill broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run.

The Panthers had three more offensive possessions after the touchdown run, but were unable to generate any offense.

Siloam Springs rushed for 111 yards on 16 carries, led by Thrailkill's 11 carries for 95 yards. Landon Ellis completed 5 of 7 passes for 30 yards.

The eighth grade team plays Rogers Lingle on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Gates Stadium.

Sports on 09/14/2014