CLASS 6A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

EL DORADO 27, GREENWOOD 17

DECEMBER 4, LITTLE ROCK — El Dorado’s defense made its own statement in the Class 6A championship game.

The Wildcats forced five turnovers and had eight sacks to lead El Dorado to a 27-17 win over Greenwood at War Memorial Stadium.

The championship was El Dorado’s 10th stretching back to even the old big-school conference when Oil Town, as it was once referred to, won its first state championship in 1924. During the modern playoff era, which began in 1968, El Dorado won titles in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.

“Awesome feeling; state champs,” El Dorado head coach Steven Jones said. “El Dorado is back on top. Football town. Our kids are the celebrities.”

El Dorado finished 11-2 and with nine straight wins after losing the 6A-East conference opener at Jonesboro, 31-20.

El Dorado’s defense dominated the championship game.

Mario Gunter and Josh Hill intercepted passes, and Jyrin Steward, Danquez Shelton and Gunter recovered fumbles.

Damarian Rester had two sacks, and Patrick Sixby, Ahmayus Young, Trey Cook, Takoie Steward, Jyrin Steward and Shelton had a sack each.

The eight sacks resulted in 64 yards of losses as El Dorado’s defense set a championship game record by allowing minus 44 yards rushing.

El Dorado’s defense also allowed Greenwood just one third-down conversion in 12 attempts.

“Our defense saw all the press about the offense,” Jones said. “I think that fired them up. They played with a chip on their shoulder. They made a statement. They played incredible and really got after the quarterback. Greenwood slings it out in the flat, and we have three guys rallying to the ball every play. Trey Outlaw, our defensive coordinator, put together an awesome plan. Defense won it for us.”

Despite El Dorado’s defensive prowess, Greenwood still led 10-7 on Hunter Houston’s 47-yard touchdown pass to L.J. Robins and Ben Moy’s 33-yard field goal with 2:16 left in the first quarter.

Shadarious Plummer ran for touchdowns of two yards in the second quarter and one yard in the third quarter for a 20-10 lead.

Slade Dean, Greenwood’s backup quarterback in because Houston left in the second quarter with a head injury, ran for a 2-yard touchdown that trimmed El Dorado’s lead back to 20-17 with 9:25 left in the fourth quarter.

El Dorado answered with an impressive 11-play, 66-yard drive that consumed 6:49 capped by Plummer’s fourth touchdown run of the game on a 35-yard jaunt with 2:36 left.

Plummer had seven carries on the drive for 54 yards.

El Dorado’s defense then had a fourth-down stop, with the aid of two sacks, and the Wildcats ran out the clock.

“It was a rough one,” Greenwood head coach Chris Young said. “We ran up against a very good football team. Defensively, they just shut us down. They really limited what we do offensively. We couldn’t get loose. They played cover zero and brought one more than we could block. They got to us all night.”

Plummer earned the Most Valuable Player award after rushing 25 times for 181 yards and four scores.

“We took what they gave us,” Jones said. “They played us with a lighter tackle box and we just handed the ball off. We took what they gave us. That’s what got us here. We continued to do that for four quarters.”

El Dorado quarterback Sharmon Rester threw for 109 yards, completing 10-of-25 passes.

The provided a lethal 1-2 offensive punch for the Wildcats. Plummer finished with 1,290 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground while Rester threw for 3,588 yards and 41 touchdowns while completing 182-of-290 passes to pace an offense that scored a school-record 600 points.