EARLY KNOCKS LEAD TO LATE SUCCESS FOR DOLLARWAY CARDS

By Sean Saunders/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

The Dollarway Cardinals took their lumps in the nonconference portion of their schedule. The Cards even suffered a pair of mercy rules during the first three games of the season.

But those early losses have led to late-season success for Dollarway (9-3). The Cardinals overcame their latest menace by knocking off Nashville, the three-time defending state champion, 16-12 Friday at Scrapper Stadium.

The tough nonconference schedule, which included games against Class 5A playoff team Central Arkansas Christian, national powerhouse Bastrop, La., and at Class 6A playoff team Marion, produced results that mirrored a team playing above its head, as the Cardinals were outscored by scores of 23-14, 42-6 and 61-19, respectively. But that seemed to ready Dollarway for anything that Class 4A could bring in each game, even from the team that has been atop the 4A rankings for the entire season.

“It was a very trialing process because we were always trying to figure out what our identity was going to be,” Dollarway coach Cortez Lee said. “Once we went under center after that third game, we stopped turning the ball over like we were in the shotgun spread.”

Dollarway showed that it could hang with the Scrappers (11-1) by keeping them off the board in the first half. Nashville came into the contest averaging nearly 50 points per game, but had absolutely nothing on the board following the first 24 minutes.

“We came in and hit them hard when they were expecting a whole different outcome,” Lee said. “They’re used to being a high-profile team and scoring on people at will, and we came in here and we played solid football. That was something that they weren’t used to.”

Both teams had to make adjustments because there wasn’t a score in the first half. But Lee is used to making adjustments. His decision to revert the team back to a wishbone offense before it started conference play ultimately turned the season around.

Dollarway’s halftime adjustment was a subtle one, one that the casual fan probably couldn’t see. The Cardinals pulled the backside guard on almost every play in the second half, limiting the backside pursuit of the Nashville defensive front. Dollarway broke only four run plays of more than 10 yards, but the Cardinals managed to compile 137 rushing yards in the second half.

“We saw where we could block their five-front a certain way,” Lee said. “They would cave down on one side and we would pull one backside guard, and they were never able to adjust to it.”

The Scrappers’ halftime adjustment was much more blatant — they quit throwing the ball. Nashville quarterback Pierre Vaughn completed only 6 of 20 passes for 87 yards in the first half, so Nashville called only four passing plays in the second half. Vaughn ended up completing 1 of 3 attempts and scrambling for a 16-yard gain on the final pass play.

Nashville senior running back Derrick Graham thrived under the coaches’ decision to ground the ball. Graham churned out 121 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries in the second half, leading to a game-high 176 yards on 19 carries.

But Dollarway succeeded in making the Scrappers, a squad that burned every previous opponent with a balanced offense, into a one-dimensional team. Senior Jesse Grandy’s play at free safety contributed largely to shutting down Nashville’s passing attack.

Grandy played at least 25 yards behind the ball on nearly every play. Then he would react and have enough speed to reach the open receiver in time to make a play. Grandy finished the game with four passes defended, including two almost interceptions and two big hits on receivers over the middle that jarred the ball loose.

“It was an honor to come down here and play a team like this,” Grandy said. “It was an honor to win, and it was an honor to be in a close game with them.”

Grandy and classmate Michael Willingham, the Cards’ top two play makers on offense all season, fittingly scored the team’s two touchdowns. But the wrinkles came when Dollarway went for its two-point conversions. Senior linebacker Paris Patterson scored the first two on his only offensive play of the game, and sophomore Trey Daniels, who had only two carries in the contest, scored the second two to put Dollarway up by 10 points with less than a minute to go in the third quarter.

With the win, Dollarway matched its nine-win streak from a year ago. That team ended up in the state championship game against the Scrappers. This year’s Cardinals are through to the state semifinals where they get to host the Newport Greyhounds on Friday at 7:30 p.m.