Little Rock Christian rolled past Springdale 45-6 on Friday night in the first round of the Class 7A high‑school football playoffs at Warrior Field in Little Rock. The Warriors built a 31‑0 halftime lead, scoring 31 unanswered points in the first half, according to Arkansas Online.
Senior quarterback Haden Hall was the catalyst, delivering four first‑half touchdown passes. Two of those went to senior wideout Pierre Pickens, who also caught a 47‑yard score early in the second quarter. Hall connected with Cooper Wilkerson for a 32‑yard touchdown after a recovered fumble, and later found Ridge Bowman for a 4‑yard score with less than a minute left in the half.
Little Rock Christian entered the game with a 7‑4 record, while Springdale was 2‑9 and had lost its previous two games by a combined 72‑3, per the report. The Bulldogs struggled to move the ball, completing only two passes in the first half. Converted tight end Carlos Hernandez took snaps at quarterback for Springdale.
Early turnovers threatened to stall the Warriors, including a fumble on the opening drive that gave Springdale possession at the 16‑yard line. However, Little Rock Christian quickly rebounded, stopping the Bulldogs and scoring on the next possession. An interception on the third drive halted the Warriors briefly, but they regained momentum with a series of balanced runs by senior running back Nick Harp and a recovered fumbled kickoff return at the Springdale 36‑yard line.
Warriors head coach Dustin Grimmett praised his team’s physical play, saying, “They came out, and their game plan was to run over us. And our guys played physical and met the challenge, especially defensively.” He added, “Our guys stepped up and played a really physical game. I’m proud of that. We found our rhythm offensively and got the ball going. We were able to run the ball and we were able to throw the ball. We were able to be balanced, and good teams need to be balanced in the playoffs.” Grimmett also noted areas for improvement, acknowledging the early turnovers: “There’s obviously some stuff to clean up. We can’t turn the ball over in the first half. That was frustrating. I thought we were slow to start the first half and slow to start the second half, which is frustrating.”
Springdale’s offense never found its footing, managing only two completions in the first half and failing to sustain drives throughout the game. Little Rock Christian added a field goal by Eric Cucos after a short drive, extending the lead before the half‑time break.
What’s next: The Warriors advance to the second round of the Class 7A playoffs and will begin preparations for their upcoming matchup later this week.
Sources: arkansasonline.com
