Harrisburg rallies past Manila for 12-6 win

Freshman fullback Devon Jarrett rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns in the second half to spark the Harrisburg Hornets to a 12-6 come from behind victory over Manila in junior high football action Thursday night at Lion Field.

The two teams battled to a scoreless tie through the first half, before eighth grader Thomas Davis fielded the opening kickoff of the third quarter at his own 35 and raced 65 yards for a Manila touchdown, giving the Lions a 6-0 lead.

Harrisburg wasted little time answering Manila's touchdown when Jarrett broke several tackles and rambled 60 yards into the end zone to tie the game 6-6 with 6:53 left in the third period. Harrisburg's two point conversion attempt failed.

Manila moved to midfield on its next possession, thanks to a 13-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Joyner to Jay Kulin, but Eddie Martinez intercepted Joyner on the next play, giving the Hornets possession at the Harrisburg 30. Jarrett bulled his way through the middle of the Manila line once again, this time from 40 yards out, to put the Hornets ahead for good, 12-6.

Manila threatened to score late in the game behind the passing of Joyner, who moved the Lions from their own 36 to the Harrisburg 17 yard line. The drive was highlighted by passes of 24 and 28 yards, first to Jacob Cates and the second to Caleb Reinhart. But the drive stalled and the Hornets ran out the final 2:20 to secure the win.

"We held Jarrett down pretty well for awhile, but he just broke too many tackles on the two touchdown runs, and that was the difference in the game," said Manila Coach Toby Doke. "We are a young team, and Harrisburg was a little too physical for us tonight. We have to do a better job of tackling, but the kids are getting better every week. We are looking forward to our first conference game against Bald Knob next week."

Jarrett finished the night with nine carries for 127 yards and two scores while Jones rushed nine times for 37 yards. Harrisburg quarterback Matt Walton completed one of four passes for six yards. The Hornets had 179 yards of total offense, including 173 on the ground.

Joyner completed four of 15 passes for 72 yards for the Lions, but was picked off two times, both by Martinez. Kulin caught two passes for 20 yards while Reinhart had one reception for 28 yards and Cates snared one pass for 24 yards. Davis led the Lions in rushing with seven carries for 30 yards while Joyner rushed six times for 29 yards. The Lions finished the night with 133 yards of total offense.

Manila will travel to Bald Knob Thursday night for their conference opener.