Beavers roll over Lions for 7-0 record
By Sean Rock Contributing writer

With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Glen Rose Beavers are among the top Class AAA ball teams in the state. Friday night's Homecoming victory, 55-12, over the England Lions puts the Beavers at 7-0 overall for the season and 4-0 in 3A-8 Conference play. England falls to 2-5 and 1-3.

Hoping to gain control of the game early, the Beavers struck four times in the opening stanza for a 28-0 lead entering the second quarter. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Glen Rose fans were being treated to a healthy dose of Beaver sophomores and juniors who seemed to have no real trouble handling the best that England could muster.

"We did what we set out to do - end the game early," said Glen Rose head coach Billy Elmore. "Our guys know from experience what can happen when you let a team hang around. We wanted to jump on them early."

Obviously pleased with his team's performance, Elmore especially praised the younger players for their effort.

"These kids play against our first string guys everyday in practice, and I think their hard work showed on the field. They got to taste playing on Friday night and did a good job standing up to [England's] first string."

Elmore did find a few areas for his team to work on this week in preparation for Friday's trip to Smackover.

"Well, we had an extra point blocked, so our extra point team has some things to look at," Elmore said. "And we will definitely be addressing them in practice this week. And our JV group has some things to work on, like finish the play. We'll work on all of that too."

Defensively, Glen Rose had another stellar week, controlling their opponents on the line of scrimmage and containing England's attack.

"I was real pleased. Our play was pretty solid," commented Glen Rose defensive coordinator Mark Kehner. "Our first string was mature and helped put the game away early. By about midway in the second quarter our subs were going in."

Kehner added that he was really pleased with back-up players like sophomores Tyler Mantooth and Charlie Young, as well as juniors Kenny Dyer and Jeb Lewallen and senior Michael Kelly.

"They played hard and executed pretty well," he said. "We had a couple of let downs and [England] was able to score 12 points on us. But our younger guys got some good game experience."

Glen Rose scored the first of four first-quarter touchdowns with 9:53 remaining in the opening quarter. Senior Jake Jones powered in on a run from 2-yards out. Brant Abbott nailed the extra point for a 7-0 Beaver lead.

Three minutes later, the Beavers hit pay dirt again, this time on a 7-yard dash by senior quarterback Nathan Jones. Abbott's follow-up kick was blocked, and the score stood at 13-0.

With 3:52 to go in the quarter, Jones connected with senior Michael Blancher on a 32 yard pass to make it 19-0. Jones passed to senior tailback Doug Vinson for the conversion and a 21-0 Glen Rose lead.

The Beavers all but sealed their victory with just 1:20 left in the first quarter. Vinson sped into the end zone on a 21-yard TD bolt. Abbott's kick made it a 28-0 game.

In at QB, Blancher opened the second quarter with a 23-yard scoring run. The PAT made it 35-0. Two minutes later Jones was back in at QB and hit senior J Keith on a 32-yard pass play for a 41-0 Beaver bumper. Abbott hit the PAT to make it 42-0.

Junior runningback Trevor Newcomb got in on the scoring action with 32 seconds remaining in the first half. Newcomb powered in on a 7-yard run and boosted the Beaver lead to 48-0. The PAT failed.

The England offense broke their silence on the next possession, scoring on a 57-yard run to put the game at 48-6 at the half.

Glen Rose spent the second half trying to use up a game clock already ticking away thanks to the mercy rule. The Beavers did decide to post one more TD though. Newcomb scored his second TD of the night at 5:53 of the third on a 12-yard run. Abbott capped Glen Rose's scoring with the PAT and made it 55-6.

England scored their second TD of the game on a 70-plus yard run with less than seven minutes to go in the game. The score made little difference in a game that was decided early. The final: 55-12, Glen Rose.

Nathan Jones finished the night 5 of 7 for 102 yards passing. Jacob Rhodes was 4 for 7 for 34 yards. Rhodes also recorded 95 yards on the ground on nine carries.

Trevor Newcomb had 12 touches for 70 yards and two TDs. Doug Vinson had 73 yards on just six hauls.

Glen Rose travels to Smackover Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff. England will butt heads with Camden Harmony Grove. Score by quarters

Lions-	0	6	0	6 -12
Beavers-	28	20	7	0 -55

Scoring Summary

1st 9:53 Glen Rose-J. Jones 2-yard run (Abbott kick)

1st 6:53 Glen Rose-N. Jones 7-yard run (kick blocked)

1st 3:52 Glen Rose-N. Jones 32-yard pass to Blancher (2 point conversion pass Jones to Vinson)

1st 1:20 Glen Rose-Vinson 21-yard run (Abbott kick)

2nd 11:46 Glen Rose-Blancher 23-yard run (Abbott kick)

2nd 9:31 Glen Rose-N. Jones 32-yard pass to J Keith (Abbott kick)

2nd :32 Glen Rose-Newcomb 7-yard run (Abbott kick)

2nd :27 England-57-yard run (Kick no good)

3rd 5:53 Glen Rose-Newcomb 12-yard run (Abbott kick)

4th 7:00 England-72-yard run (Kick no good)