Gray owned the first quarter of the annual Maroon-Gray spring football game on Friday, scoring a touchdown on its first possession and dominating possession for most of the quarter.
The second, third and fourth quarters, however, belonged to Maroon.
Maroon scored single touchdowns in each of the last three quarters and its defense stuffed Gray and forced a pair of turnvoers in the second half in a 22-6 victory at Panther Stadium.
The scrimmaged wrapped up spring football practice for the Panthers, who were playing their first game in their new stadium at Siloam Springs High School.
And with cool temperates outside, tempers got a little hot on both sides toward the end.
"It got a little chippy," said Siloam Springs head coach Bryan Ross. "That's something when you're playing against your teammates is more likely to happen than when you're playing somebody else.
"I love the competitiveness. We've just got to learn to harness that. It's like I told the kids, when you're so worried about whatever else is going you're not worried about what you have to do to be successful, but we'll learn from that."
The final offensive numbers wound up almost even between the two teams, who were drafted on Tuesday by senior captains Colby Brown and Aric Sislo of White and Matt Downing and Nick Herring of Maroon.
Gray wound up edging Maroon in total yardage 270-268, however, Gray only had 81 total yards in the second half while Maroon had 155 in the second half.
The game began with varsity players on the field and Gray in possession of the football at the 30. No live kicking was held.
Rising junior quarterback Luke Lampton moved the sticks for Gray with his legs, rushing four times for 43 yards, including a 31-yard run to the 2-yard line.
Cody Washington scored on the next play with 7:16 left in the first quarter. Gray's lead remained 6-0 after it two-point conversion pass failed.
Maroon took over possession and picked up a first down on an 11-yard screen pass from rising senior Jordan Norberg to Ricky Hughes, but Maroon wound up having to punt and gave the ball back to Gray.
Lampton again moved Gray into Maroon territory and he threw a 24-yard pass to a leaping Coby Roach. But Gray's drive stalled at the end of the first quarter and the team punted back to Maroon.
Both teams played majority junior varsity players in the second quarter.
Herring, a senior and third-string quarterback, ran for 23 yards on a keeper but Maroon eventually punted back to Gray. Gray punted back to Maroon, and Gray's Jonatan Magley intercepted a Herring pass for the game's first turnover.
Gray, however, turned the ball over on downs and Maroon took over at its own 35. Following a one-yard loss to the 34, Herring found Marquan Sorrells for a 66-yard touchdown pass as Maroon tied the game 6-6. Herring ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-6 Maroon lead with 3:03 left in the half.
Gray began to move the sticks after Lampton hit Chance Junkermann for a 12-yard gain and Kevin Canales ran for 31 yards. But Canales lost a fumble on the next play and Zach Meixner recovered for Maroon.
Blaid Frazier also had a first-half interception for Gray.
Maroon opened the second half with its junior varsity players and drove 70 yards for a score.
After Carswell ran for 13 yards on two combined runs, Herring broke a 43-yard run to the Gray 2. Carswell ran in the final two yards on the next play for the touchdown, and Herring fired a strike to Sorrells on the two-point conversion as Maroon took a 16-6 lead.
Gray got a 32-yard run from J.D. Horn on a quarterback keeper to move into Maroon territory, but the drive stalled and Gray was forced to punt.
Maroon's varsity offense returned to the field and picked up a first down after a 16-yard run by Norberg, but Maroon stalled as well and had to punt.
However, Gray fumbled on its next possession when the ball was snapped over Lampton's head and Chris Boyster recovered for Maroon.
Norberg rushed for 22 yards and Hughes ran for 10 yards before adding the next 5 yards with 9:55 left in the fourth quarter for the game's final touchdown.
Gray moved into Maroon territory in the fourth quarter, but the drive stalled when Lampton left the game after taking a blow to the head.
Lampton walked off the field and appeared to be OK following the game.
"Luke got a little dinged up there, but I think he's going to be fine," Ross said. "I don't think we got anybody hurt. That's all you can ask for in the spring game."
Gray also picked up a 15-yard personal foul on the play.
Maroon drove down to the 2-yard line in the final minute but let the clock run out instead of running another play.
"Right now we'll watch the film and see what it looks like," Ross said. "When you get everybody a lot of work and nobody get seriously hurt, you've got to consider it a good night.
For Gray offensively, Lampton rushed 13 times for 83 yards, while completing 8 of 15 passes for 65 yards. Horn, operating at Gray's backup quarterback, rushed six times for 47 yards. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 24 yards. Roach caught five passes for 54 yards.
Offensively for Maroon, Norberg completed 5 of 7 passes for 27 yards and rushed three times for 29 yards. Herring rushed four times for 68 yards and he completed 4 of 7 passes for 80 yards with two interceptions. Carswell also rushed 11 times for 39 yards. Sorrells caught two passes for 76 yards.
"You can't get a great look when you split up, but I felt like our kids, for the mostpart, looked like they knew what they were doing and got after it," Ross said. "That's what you're looking for."
Sports on 05/24/2015