The Mountain View Yellowjackets defeated the Izard County Consolidated (ICC) Cougars 46-20 in their 2022 season opener Friday night at ICC.
It was a night of firsts for both teams, as Mountain View played their first 8-man high school football game after transitioning from 11-man football for the first time in school history. The state of Arkansas has seen the number of 8-man teams grow over the last couple of years, mostly in smaller schools, but the number of 3A and 4A schools has increased as well.
Mountain View made the transition due to lower roster numbers. As for ICC, the addition of 8-man football in the state has given them the opportunity to add a football program to their school, and Friday was the first game in school history.
The game had a ceremonial beginning, as a helicopter landed at midfield, and the pilots presented the game ball to ICC head coach Jared Johnson (image above).
ICC received the opening kickoff and was forced to turn it over on downs by a stingy Yellowjacket defense. Mountain View took their opening possession 55 yards on seven plays, scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run by Junior Levi Rorie, the 2-point conversion was good to give the Yellowjackets an 8-0 lead.
ICC scored their first touchdown at 2:07 mark of the first quarter when Quarterback Wyatt Buchanan scored on an 11-yard touchdown run. The 2-pt conversion was no good and Mountain View led 8-6.
Mountain View added two 1-yard touchdown runs, both from Junior Quarterback Drew Shelton, to give the Yellowjackets a 22-6 halftime lead.
In the second half, Mountain View increased their lead on the opening possession as Rorie scored on a 23-yard touchdown run to give the Yellowjackets a 30-6 lead early in the third quarter. Both teams added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Mountain View won 46-20.
The Yellowjackets had 358 yards of total offense on the night, 289 yards rushing, and 79 yards passing. Shelton led the way with 87 yards rushing on 19 carries and two touchdowns. He was also 3-3 passing for 79 yards. Rorie added 80 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns and Drew Isbell had seven carries for 48 yards. Landon Goins led the receivers with one reception for 46 yards.
The Cougars were led by Buchanan who rushed for 83 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. He was also 17-25 passing for 196 yards and one touchdown. Malachi Cruz had 11 receptions for 89 yards.
Mountain View improved to 1-0 on the season as they enter their bye week. ICC drops to 0-1 on the season, as they will host Marshall next week at ICC.
Follow the Mountain View Yellowjackets through radio coverage from White River Now’s Arkansas 103.3 on-air, and through the White River Now website or app.
Article by Kevin Johnson
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