Chicks lose another close one

WYNNE -- The Blytheville Chickasaws opened the 5A-East season with a heartbreaking, 28-20, loss on the road against the Wynne Yellowjackets Friday night at Yellowjacket Stadium.

Coming into the game, the Yellowjackets had shutout the Chickasaws over the past three seasons. Blytheville showed just how far they've come over the past three years taking the seasoned Yellowjackets to the wire on their home field but came up just short of another huge win this season.

"This is very frustrating," said Blytheville head coach Ben Fisher after the game. "We did show we can play with them."

Blytheville had two chances with under three minutes to play to mount a game-tying drive but the Wynne defense held strong, keeping the aggressive Chickasaw offense out of the end zone. With just over a minute left in the game, Blytheville quarterback Terry Northern was sacked on a fourth and nine to seal the deal for the Yellowjackets.

Northern showed an additional dimension to his game, throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns.

"We had success throwing the ball tonight," said Fisher. "I wish we would have gone to it sooner in the game."

All week long, Fisher stressed the importance of stopping the fullback in the Wynne triple-option offense. Despite the preparation and constant preaching, Wynne managed to rack up the yards on the ground with its fullback, Davyon Jackson. Jackson racked up 112 yards on the night and fellow backfield mate, Q. Collins, added 68. But it was the speedy Devontae Pounds who did the most damage with the fewest touches. Pounds touched the ball just five times but made the most of it scoring all four Wynne touchdowns on the night.

Pounds ran for scores of 26 and 66 yards over the first two quarters as Wynne (1-3, 1-0 5A-East) opened up a 14-0 lead over Blytheville with 8:35 left in the second quarters.

Blytheville responded with the first of Northern's two touchdown passes on the ensuing Chickasaw possession. On third-and-five from the 50 yard line, Northern found Tyrell King down the left sideline for a score to cut the Wynne lead to 14-7 with 5:22 left in the half.

Wynne drove the ball down inside the 10 yard line as the half was ending but Issac Kelly killed the Yellowjacket drive with his second interception of the half. A late Chickasaw drive stalled near midfield as time expired in the second quarter.

Blytheville forced three first half turnovers but was unable to capitalize on the Yellowjacket miscues.

Blytheville opened the second half with a strong, time-consuming drive.

Starting at their own 20 yard line, the Chicks marched down the field to the Yellowjacket five yard line chewing up nearly six minutes of clock before trouble ensued. On fourth -and-five at the 10 yard line, the Chicks completed a pass for a first down but it was called back 15 yards for offensive pass interference. Northern was sacked deep in the backfield on the next play, giving Wynne the ball back on their own 40 yard line. Four plays later, Pounds took the ball 50 yards to the house to give Wynne a 21-7 lead with 3:45 to play in the third.

It took Blytheville less than a minute and a half to respond. Northern and King connected for a 34-yard touchdown to bring the Chicks to within seven at 21-14 as the fourth quarter started.

King had a big night catching eight balls for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

The Chicks recovered the fourth turnover of the night on Wynne's next possession as Collins fumbled at the Blytheville 28, setting up the Chicks' next score.

On the second play of the drive, Northern hit Demekko Clark with a little swing pass out of the backfield. Clark made a nice move hurdling over the Wynne defender and then took the ball up the sideline, 72 yards to the house for the Blytheville score. Clark had another solid all around performance, collecting 72 yards on the ground and 84 through the air and a touchdown. The Chicks missed the PAT making the score, 21-20 with 10:34 to play in the game.

Blytheville forced a Wynne punt on the next possession but fumbled the ball back to the Yellowjackets in Chickasaw territory. Wynne drove the ball to the Blytheville 11 yard line. On fourth and seven from the 11, Pounds took the ball around the corner and found the end zone for the Yellowjackets' fourth score of the night and 28-20 lead with 3:30 left in the game.

Wynne stopped the Chicks on fourth down on two possessions in the final 3:30 to get the win.

The Chicks have now dropped two straight games in the closing moments and stand at 2-2 on the season. They return home for the first time since beating West Memphis next Friday to take on the Nettleton Raiders who dropped their 5A-East opener to Batesville, 31-10.

afitzpatrick@blythevillecourier.com