DE QUEEN ENDS SEASON FOR DAMAGED DUMAS

By Terry Hawkins/SPECIAL TO THE COMMERCIAL

DE QUEEN — A fourth-down gamble by Dumas failed midway through the fourth quarter when the De Queen Leopards took advantage and scored two more touchdowns to pull away from the Bobcats 41-26 Friday night in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs. The loss ended the season for the visiting Bobcats.

The Leopards scored first on a 1-yard run by Zack Taylor with 8:22 left in the first quarter. Lyle Martinez had the PAT for a 7-0 De Queen lead.

Dumas (7-5) answered with a 58-yard TD pass from Darian Griswald to Aaron Dennis only 40 seconds later and Rodrigo Ramirez tied it with his PAT.

Following a De Queen fumble, Griswold passed 56 yards to Pierce Lacy with 4:42 left in the first quarter. A successful PAT put Dumas on top 14-7.

The Leopards (11-1) tied it with an 8-yard run by Greg White with 11:54 left in the half, then went ahead on a 4-yard run by Taylor with 6:47 on the clock. Martinez’s PAT made it 21-14.

Dumas pulled within 21-20 on a 1-yard run by Jamarean Buchannan with 4:09 left in the half, but the PAT failed.

The only scoring in the third quarter was a 32-yard fumble runback by Corey Freeman of Dumas with 3:48 in the period. The PAT again failed, but Dumas led 26-21.

Greg White scored on a 15-yard run with 11:41 left in the game to give De Queen a 27-26 lead, but the Leopards’ two-point try failed.

After holding the Bobcats at the 43-yard line with 10:30 left in the game, De Queen went ahead 34-26 on a 21-yard run by Jamario Ervin with 9:38 left Martinez’s PATmade it 34-26.

With 8:47 left, De Queen freshman Awkille Freeman was ruled to have fumbled the ball, but after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Dumas, De Queen took over at the Dumas 34. J.J. Hendrix scored on a 5-yard run with 4:30 left in the game. Martinez’s PAT was good for the 41-26 final.

Dumas drove to the De Queen 2-yard line and threw four incomplete passes in a row to turn the ball over on downs, enabling De Queen to run out the clock.