Magnolia’s defense stepped up and recorded its first shutout of the season by blanking Camden Fairview 20-0 Thursday night at Panther Stadium.
The unbeaten freshmen Cubs (6-0) had two interceptions, four quarterback sacks and forced the Cardinals to turn the ball over twice on downs during their regular-season home finale. The 8th grade Cubs (3-3) were blanked 28-0 by the Cardinals.
During the freshmen battle, it didn’t take the Cubs long to strike first. Following the opening kickoff, running back Garrion Curry took the first offensive snap from quarterback Dalen Blanchard and raced 54 yards down the sideline for the score. Blake Barker hit the PAT, giving the Cubs a 7-0 lead with only 13 seconds played. Curry finished with 165 yards rushing and two touchdowns. His other score came on an 80-yard run.
On the Cub’s second possession, Jacob Hebert broke loose for 27 yards before being tackled. He later caught a 15-yard pass from Blanchard. Jase Carter then burst up the middle for 13 yards, before Blanchard sneak into the end zone from the 1 to make it 14-0 with 48 seconds remaining in the first period.
Curry had a 68-yard punt return for a score wiped out because of a penalty early in the second quarter. Midway through the period, he ran for 27 yards but the Cubs were not able to come up with any more points before half-time.
Following Magnolia’s first interception in the Cardinals’ end zone, Curry took the ball 80 yards for the score. The PAT failed and the Cubs led 20-0 midway through the third period.
Neither team scored in the final quarter, but the Magnolia defense forced another over-on-downs and came up with its second interception.
In the 8th grade contest, Camden Fairview scored off a 2-yard run at the 4:32 mark in the opening quarter to make it 6-0. With 4:56 to play in the second, the Cardinals crossed the goal line from the 13 and added a two-point conversion to make it 14-0. A 24-yard TD with 3:28 to play in the third pushed the score to 21-0 and a blocked punt was return 13 yards for the game’s final score, making it 28-0.
The Cubs will travel to Hot Springs this Thursday and close the season Oct. 31 at De Queen.