Hughes, Rose lead Mena past Lamar as defense holds off late rally
Mena 42, Lamar 36
October 9, 2026
LAMAR — Chance Hughes ran for three touchdowns, Hank Rose accounted for three more, and Mena stopped Lamar’s final possession to preserve a 42-36 victory Friday night in a 4A-4 game on the Warriors’ homecoming.
The Bearcats broke a 14-14 halftime tie with two third-quarter touchdowns and led 42-28 with 5:30 remaining. Lamar answered with a scoring drive and recovered a fumble to get one more chance, but Mena took over on downs with 31 seconds left and finished in victory formation.
Mena improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Lamar fell to 4-2 and 1-2.
The Warriors’ defense kept the opening quarter scoreless. Jake Wyles broke up Rose’s fourth-down pass near the goal line, giving Lamar the ball at its own 5. The Warriors drove the length of the field, and Kendrick Carr scored on a one-yard run with 10:49 left in the second quarter. The conversion pass fell incomplete.
Hughes answered with a six-yard touchdown run at 8:13. A mishandled snap and incomplete pass spoiled Mena’s conversion attempt, leaving the score 6-6. Lamar regained the lead when Karsten Schluterman found Kasen Humphrey for a touchdown, and Kendrick Carr’s two-point run made it 14-6 with 5:27 remaining in the half.
Mena produced a crucial fourth-down answer before the break. Facing fourth-and-12 at the Lamar 20, Rose placed a touchdown pass over the shoulder of Tycen Baber with 39 seconds left. Rose ran for the conversion to tie it. Truett House intercepted a deep pass on the next possession, though the Bearcats could not add another score before halftime.
After stopping Lamar on downs early in the third quarter, Mena eventually moved ahead on Rose’s touchdown run with 6:35 left. Hughes followed with a 13-yard scoring run at 3:20. Both conversion runs failed, but the Bearcats had a 26-14 lead.
Lamar pulled within 26-22 before the quarter ended, scoring on a short run and adding a two-point run by Corbin Cowell. Rose answered in the fourth, cutting back through the defense for another touchdown. Mena’s successful conversion pass made it 34-22 with 9:22 remaining.
The Warriors again cut the deficit to six with a one-yard touchdown run, but Hughes restored the cushion. After a Rose run moved Mena inside the 5, Hughes started right, reversed direction and scored from four yards with 5:30 left. Rose’s conversion run pushed the margin to 42-28.
Schluterman kept Lamar in contention. Mason Sharp caught a first-down pass to the Mena 15, and Brailon Carr turned the next completion into a touchdown. The two-point run brought Lamar within 42-36 at 2:27. A fumble recovery gave the Warriors possession at their own 40 with 1:34 remaining, but a low snap, penalties and Mena’s pressure prevented the winning drive.
Mena visits Pottsville on Oct. 16. Lamar travels to Waldron.
Scoring summary
Named scoring plays verified from the broadcast, in chronological order. Two additional Lamar rushing touchdowns are described separately in the editor notes because the call identifies the runner only as Carr.
Q2 10:49 — Lamar — Kendrick Carr one-yard run (pass failed). Lamar 6, Mena 0.
Q2 8:13 — Mena — Chance Hughes six-yard run (conversion failed). Mena 6, Lamar 6.
Q2 5:27 — Lamar — Kasen Humphrey touchdown pass from Karsten Schluterman (Kendrick Carr run). Lamar 14, Mena 6.
Q2 0:39 — Mena — Tycen Baber 20-yard pass from Hank Rose (Hank Rose run). Mena 14, Lamar 14.
Q3 6:35 — Mena — Hank Rose touchdown run (run failed). Mena 20, Lamar 14.
Q3 3:20 — Mena — Chance Hughes 13-yard run (run failed). Mena 26, Lamar 14.
Q4 9:22 — Mena — Hank Rose touchdown run (pass good). Mena 34, Lamar 22.
Q4 5:30 — Mena — Chance Hughes four-yard run (Hank Rose run). Mena 42, Lamar 28.
Q4 2:27 — Lamar — Brailon Carr 15-yard pass from Karsten Schluterman (run good). Mena 42, Lamar 36.
Players who stood out
Chance Hughes, Mena — Three rushing touchdowns, from six, 13 and four yards; the last restored a two-possession lead with 5:30 remaining.
Hank Rose, Mena — Two rushing touchdowns and a 20-yard touchdown pass to Tycen Baber on fourth-and-12; added two successful two-point runs and made the late run that set up Hughes’ final touchdown.
Tycen Baber, Mena — Caught the fourth-down touchdown pass with 39 seconds left in the first half, setting up the tying conversion.
Truett House, Mena — Intercepted a deep pass with 25 seconds left before halftime.
Karsten Schluterman, Lamar — Threw touchdown passes to Kasen Humphrey and Brailon Carr and kept the final scoring drive alive while under pressure.
Kendrick Carr, Lamar — Scored Lamar’s opening touchdown on a one-yard run and added the second-quarter two-point run; also broke up a third-quarter pass downfield.
Brailon Carr, Lamar — Scored on a 15-yard reception with 2:27 left; selected as the broadcast’s offensive player of the game.
Whitman Storment, Lamar — Repeatedly involved in stops against Mena’s ground game and selected as the broadcast’s defensive player of the game; no full-game tackle total was verified.