Miners throttle Glen Rose for 8AAA title
Martin Couch Sports editor

8AAA CHAMPS BOB MCADORY PHOTO The Bauxite Miners won the 8AAA Conference championship by defeating the Glen Rose Beavers 41-12 at The Pit in Bauxite.

The Bauxite Miners defeated the Glen Rose Beavers 41-12 in the last conference game of the season to claim the 8AAA Conference crown for the second year in a row.

Surprising to some, other than those closet to Miners football, Bauxite broke out to a 27-6 half-time lead and never looked back. Midway through the third period, when the Miners were leading 34-12, the majority of the Beaver faithful headed for their cars.

"Our fans have constantly been taking a lot of smack over this ball game and I'd really like to gloat for them, but I know Glen Rose is a fine football team and it wouldn't surprise me if we were to meet again down the road," said Miners head coach Jon Watson.

However, another conference championship for Bauxite (9-1) was - in a word - sweet.

"I know our kids executed well all night long," Watson said. "I had no idea we could dominate the game like we did, but we have a wonderful group of kids and these seniors have grown as far as maturing into leaders."

BOB MCADORY PHOTO WORD OF WISDOM Bauxite head coach Jon Watson talks to his Miners during a timeout.

Bauxite took the opening kickoff and started its initial drive at its own 37. Four plays later, Ryan Dunlap broke loose for a 52-yard touchdown run. The extra point failed leaving the score 6-0 in favor of the Miners with 9:48 to play in the first quarter.

Glen Rose (9-1) was not to be denied. Running back Doug Vinson led a charge down field for the Beavers to the Bauxite 15. On the next play, Vinson fumbled after an 8-yard gain and Bauxite's Austin Hicks recovered it.

The Beavers defense forced a Miners punt and Glen Rose took over at the Bauxite 48. A 17-yard run from Vinson and two runs for 20 yards by Michael Blancher set up a 4-yard touchdown from Vinson. The extra point was wide left and the score was tied 6-6 with 2:17 to play in the first quarter.

The Miners started an 11-play drive from the Glen Rose 48 with Dunlap getting two carries, quarterback Aaron Mathis passing to Tommy Wimberly for 13 yards and an 8-yard run from Dunlap. Four straight runs from Mathis put the ball on the Glen Rose 4. Wimberly did the rest with a 4-yard run for a touchdown with 9:10 to play before halftime. Peter Whitfield added the extra point for a 13-6 lead.

DOMINATION BOB MCADORY PHOTOS Above, Bauxite's Ryan Dunlap runs for a touchdown. Below left, Travis Hunter sacks Nathan Jones. Below right, Tommy WImberly takes down Glen Rose's Doug Vinson. The Miners won the game 41-12.

Glen Rose drove to the Bauxite 42 on passes from quarterback Nathan Jones to Keith and Jake Jones, but a Blancher fumble on fourth down that was recovered by Vinson for a 2-yard loss, gave the Miners the ball.

Seven consecutive running plays from Mathis, Dunlap Wimberly set up a Mathis 30- yard touchdown pass to Hicks that caught the Beavers by surprise. Whitfield's extra point made it 20-6 with 3:14 to play before halftime.

Needing points in a hurry, the Beavers attempted to pass on their next series of downs. However, Mathis intercepted a Jones pass at the Glen Rose 41. A 33-yard run from Dunlap to the Glen Rose 2 set up a 1-yard touchdown dive from Wimberly. Whitfield added the extra point to make it 27-6 with 1:03 remaining in the first half.

Bauxite's Travis Hunter sacked Jones for a 7-yard loss on third-and-one as time ran out for the second quarter.

"I knew we had a great game inside of us that hadn't come out yet," Watson said. "I'm just so proud of our seniors. They played so well. This means so much to the community. It's a great feeling to be a Bauxite Miner - the 8AAA champions."

The Beavers took the opening kickoff of the second half, but had a promising drive stall out with an incompleted pass at the Bauxite 33. Three plays later, Mathis passed to Whitfield for a 60-yard touchdown. Whitfield added the PAT to make it 34-6 with 8:09 to play in the third period.

Glen Rose came back with Jones passing to Blancher and Jake Jones to get down to the Bauxite 7. Vinson carried in for a touchdown with five minutes left in the third quarter. An attempt at a 2-point conversion failed leaving the score 34-12. The Miners retaliated in four plays.

After the ensuing kickoff, Mathis had a 25-yard run to the Glen Rose 38, then Dunlap raced around the left side of the Beavers defense for a touchdown. Whitfield added the kick for a 41-12 lead with 3:06 to play in the third period.

From there, the Bauxite defense shut down the Beavers. Wimberly recorded a quarterback sack of Jones to end a drive, then Blake Childress intercepted a Jones pass on the Beavers first series of the fourth quarter.

Dunlap intercepted another Jones pass midway through the final stanza and Bauxite ran out the clock.

"We stepped up and played well," said Miners defensive coordinator John Taylor. "We bent, but we didn't break. They never did get a big play on us. We got great effort from our kids. They gang tackled and we picked off three passes. That's what we have to have. It was great all-around effort."

The Miners will await their opponent in week two of the playoffs.

By winning the conference championship, Bauxite will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and received a bye for the first round. Glen Rose will be at home this Friday for its first round game of the playoffs.

The Miners and the Beavers are on opposite sides of the playoff bracket and would meet in the Class AAA championship game.

Score by quarters
Beavers	6	0	6	0	- 12
Miners	6	21	14	0	- 41

Scoring summary 1st 9:48 Bauxite - Dunlap 52-yard run (kick failed) 1st 2:17 Glen Rose - Vinson 4-yard run (kick failed) 2nd 9:10 Bauxite - Wimberly 4-yard run (Whitfield kick) 2nd 3:14 Bauxite - Mathis 30-yard pass to Hicks (Whitfield kick) 2nd 1:03 Bauxite - Wimberly 1-yard run (Whitfield kick) 3rd 8:09 Bauxite - Mathis 60-yard pass to Whitfield (Whitfield kick) 3rd 5:00 Glen Rose - Vinson 7-yard run (conversion failed) 3rd 3:06 Bauxite - Dunlap 38-yard run (Whitfield kick)