Gosnell blanks Paragould

After a scoreless first half, Gosnell scored two offensive touchdowns and one on defense in the second half to blank Paragould, 22-0, in an Arkansas Activities Association benefit game at J.W. Rea Stadium.

“We were a little rusty starting off, execution problems,” Gosnell head coach Brandon Barbaree said. “Fumble, we drop a ball that hits us right in the hands. It’s a play that we run 20 times a day...But I like the effort in the first half; we just weren’t executing.”

The two teams played four 10-minute quarters with the clock running continuously in each period of the scrimmage.

Gosnell broke the ice on the first drive of the second half, going 70 yards in six plays. Devin Burks broke a 40-yard run to set up the Pirate offense in the red zone at the Pargould 15.

Two plays later, CaDarius Young ran left, broke a tackle two yards deep in the back field and raced nine yards to the end zone with 5:55 left in the third quarter. Quarterback Amarion Partee ran in the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.

On the ensuing drive, Burks picked off the Ram quarterback and darted 45 yards up the sideline at the 1:58 mark of the third. Waylon Kuykendall ran in the two-point conversion for a 16-0 lead.

After a Paragould three-and-out, Gosnell drove 66 yards in five plays to put the final points on the board. Kuykendall broke a 43-yard touchdown run with 4:48 left in the game to boost the lead to 22-0.

On its first drive of the game, Gosnell drove to the Paragould 38, but Burks couldn’t corral the toss and the Rams took over at their 39 with 5:00 left in the first.

Paragould moved the chains twice on the ensuing series, but the Gosnell defense stood tall, forcing a turnover on downs at the GHS 32 early in the second quarter.

Gosnell drove to the Paragould 11, though turned it over on downs with 1:40 left in the half, keeping the scrimmage scoreless going into halftime.

For the game, Gosnell outgained Paragould 191-91 in yardage. Young led the ground attack with six carries for 59 yards and the touchdown. Kuykendall ran for 55 and a score on just three totes, while Burks ended with 51 yards on five carries.

Gosnell rushed for 189 yards on 19 carries.

The Pirates were playing without quarterback Brett Barbaree, who broke his thumb on his throwing hand in a padded camp over the summer.

Coach Barbaree said the Pirates played hard in the scrimmage.

“It’s what we expected,” he said. “I think we’re further along as far as knowing the game of football this year,” Barbaree said.

Gosnell opens the regular season Friday night, when the Pirates travel to Nettleton.