Airedales show their toughness | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

ALMA – After trailing 22-9 early in the fourth quarter, Alma coach Rusty Bush said he felt the best was yet to come for his team Friday. He was right.

Alma rose to the challenge, jumping out to a 20-point lead in the final quarter, but narrowly fell short in a 30-29 loss to Morrilton in a 5A-West Conference game at Airedale Stadium. Alma had a two-point attempt in the final minute of the game to win, then another drive after a successful onside kick, but neither could score.

“We have some tough, resilient kids,” Bush said. “We’ve done this all year from the first game. A player goes down – whether tired or injured – and the next man comes along. In the second half we played against players in positions they hadn’t even practiced yet and “That has nothing to do with me. We gave ourselves a chance and I couldn’t be prouder of them. We didn’t lose the game, but we have to learn from it.”

Alma fell behind 7-3 at halftime after being held out of the end zone and the defense took the lead with two stands at the goal line. Easton Daily recovered a fumble forced by Caleb Parker at the opposing 2 on one drive, and Ashton Chanhnouvong had an interception in the end zone on another drive.

“These guys have given it their all over the last two weeks and did it (Friday) against the best offense we’ve seen all year, averaging 41 points per game,” Bush said. “It was really good to keep them to just seven in the first half. We knew that if we could just get them to hang in there, things could work out in our favor. I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.”

The Airedales had much more offensive success after halftime as first-year quarterback Michael Taylor found his groove on the ground and in the air. Israel Towns-Robinson broke the seal in the end zone for the first touchdown of the night in the third quarter before Taylor took over in the fourth quarter. He threw a 14-yard touchdown to Byron Standridge, then Taylor had touchdown runs of 34 and 4 yards to cut Morrilton’s lead to 30-29.

“It was just a total team effort,” Bush said. “These are just the kids answering the call and trying to win a conference championship and secure a playoff spot. I think Morrilton can be a top seed unless someone can knock them out. Our main goal this week is to get healthy and do our best guys back on the field.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: With no key offensive players due to injury, Taylor was asked to step up. He accomplished that and more with a career-high 178 rushing yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns. Taylor also threw for 46 yards and another touchdown. He scored two goals in the final 4:22 of the game, almost making it a goal from behind.

GAME PLAY: If Alma’s never-give-up attitude could be showcased in one fell swoop, it was on a 34-yard touchdown run by Taylor on a third-and-16 play that cut the deficit to 30-23 with 4:22 to play before the end of the game. Taylor took the ball on a read option before breaking four tackles and racing down the sideline into the end zone. The first defender made contact at the line of scrimmage and the last near the 20, but no one could bring him down.

INJURY REPORT: Alma played the entire game without Samuel Schlegel, its leading receiver from last year, and lost even more talent as the game progressed when Landon Morris, a two-way breakout player, left the game. Morris had 75 yards on six carries and a 42-yard touchdown that was recalled.

Noteworthy: The games of Morrilton (5-0, 2-0) and Alma (3-2, 1-1) were decided by one point in the last four meetings. … Alma limited Morrilton to just seven of 18 plays in the first quarter where he controlled the ball. … Morrilton was limited to 159 yards of offense in the first half. … Ashton Millsap made a touchdown-saving tackle in the first half that later resulted in no points, and he recovered Daniel Rodriguez’s late onside kick.

NEXT: Alma (3-2, 1-1) looks to bounce back with another home game against Vilonia (4-1, 2-0), which beat Clarksville and Pea Ridge in 5A West play this season come.

THE PAYMENT

224 yards of total offense for Taylor, who had 31 yards in the first half

403 – Rushing yards for Alma

[MISSED FIELD GOALS]