Gage Hershberger raced 11 yards to paydirt as the Mountain Home Bombers rallied for a 24-20 victory over the Pine Bluff Zebras at Torii Hunter Field at Jordan Stadium in Pine Bluff.
Sonny Elliott has the details.
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Down 14-0 at the half and limited to just 101 yards of total offense, first-year head coach Steve Ary’s Bombers posted the school’s first playoff victory in 14 years Friday night.
Mountain Home struggled throughout the first half, fumbling the ball away twice and throwing one interception. Pine Bluff took advantage of those woes with a 60-yard touchdown reception by Courtney Crutchfield in the first quarter and a 29-yard touchdown sprint by Braylon Hopkins to build the 14-point lead.
The Bombers continued to sputter until taking advantage of a short field after an 11-yard punt to get on the scoreboard.
Bryce McKay’s 16-yard pass to Dawson Tabor finally produced a spark for the Bomber offense, and McKay carried five times in six plays for 26 total yards to take the ball to the 1-yard line. Hershberger bulled his way into the end zone to get the Bombers on the board with 5:05 left in the third quarter.
A turnover would lead to the Bombers’ next score, a 17-yard field goal by Tabor with 7:14 left in the game. Mountain Home got the ball back, when a punt struck a Pine Bluff defender, and Mountain Home recovered at the 27-yard line. McKay then hit Logen Walker with a nice 20-yard pass, before the Bombers were forced to settle for the field goal.
Despite giving up a couple of big plays, the Bomber defense continued to harass Pine Bluff quarterback William Howell, as it had all night and forced another punt to get the ball back with just over five minutes remaining
The Bombers promptly marched 79 yards in 13 plays to score a touchdown on a 4-yard toss from McKay to Tabor on a fourth-and-goal play. McKay sparked the drive, with 41 yards rushing, and Pine Bluff committed a pair of key penalties to hand Mountain Home 20 yards.
Pine Bluff would use the big play to answer, when Howell hit Crutchfield with a pass that went for a 55-yard touchdown play. Crutchfield outleaped a Bomber defender for the ball, used a stiff arm to break free and sprinted the final 35 yards to make it a 20-17 lead. Jorell Grant’s PAT kick failed, leaving the deficit at three points.
Mountain Home came up with a big play of its own on the ensuing kickoff, when Walker fielded the ball inside his 20-yard line and returned it all the way to the Pine Bluff 11. The Bombers then took advantage of Pine Bluff’s overpursuit on the defensive line and used a delayed handoff to Hershberger to notch the touchdown.
The Bombers would ended up needing one last stand from its defense and forced four straight incompletions, as the Zebras turned the ball over on downs.
Pine Bluff outgained Mountain Home 291-265 in the contest, but the Bombers outgained the Zebras 164-92 in the second half.
McKay finished 7 of 24 passing for 115 yards and kept 28 times for 83 yards, after being held to zero yards at the half, after absorbing several sacks. Hershberger ran 21 times for 67 yards and two scores, while Tabor led the receiving corps with three catches for 53 yards. Walker caught three balls for 44.
Mountain Home limited Pine Bluff to just 39 yards rushing. Howell completed 15 of 36 passing for 252 yards, 228 of which went to Crutchfield.
The Bombers advance to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs to face Greenwood on Friday night.
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