Raines scores twice as Little Rock Christian ends Bryant’s conference streak

Little Rock Christian 25, Bryant 22

LITTLE ROCK — Grayson Raines rushed for two touchdowns, and Little Rock Christian protected a late three-point lead with Ridge Bowman’s onside-kick recovery and Nick Harp’s first-down run to defeat Bryant 25–22 Friday night. The Warriors handed Bryant its first conference loss since 2018.

LRCA scored on its first two possessions. Haden Hall connected with Mann Pickens on fourth-and-12 to extend the opening drive, which ended with Eric Cucos’ 22-yard field goal at the 9:41 mark. After the defense forced a punt, Hall found Sawyer Henry for a 9-yard touchdown. Cucos’ extra point made it 10–0 with 5:44 remaining in the first quarter.

Hall contributed to the next score with his punting. His kick was downed at the Bryant 1, and the Warriors followed with a safety early in the second quarter to lead 12–0. Bryant answered when Kyler Shelby kept the ball for a 3-yard touchdown with 4:39 left in the half, cutting the margin to 12–7.

Blake Haughaboo and Lynnox Smith supplied consecutive long runs on LRCA’s response, moving the ball from its own 33 into the Bryant red zone. Up front, Skeet Boshears, Ayden Rodgers, Nolan Moore, Trey Atkins and Grey Wilkins helped create rushing lanes, with Wilkins pulling on a Smith carry near the goal line. Bowman converted a fourth-and-two before Raines entered at quarterback and scored from 1 yard with 59 seconds remaining. Cucos’ kick extended the lead to 19–7.

Bryant reached the LRCA 14 before halftime, but Connor Johnson intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play of the half, preserving the Warriors’ 12-point advantage.

The Hornets closed to 19–14 on a touchdown pass with 7:55 left in the third quarter. LRCA’s eventual answer began at its own 10. Hall converted third downs with completions to Haughaboo and Bowman, then found Henry for another first down. Raines finished the drive with a touchdown run on the opening play of the fourth quarter. The two-point pass fell incomplete, leaving LRCA ahead 25–14.

Rece Hall forced a fumble on Bryant’s next possession, and Gideon Carlisle recovered. Earlier, Carlisle’s pressure had forced a third-down incompletion, while Harp supplied another third-down pressure that helped end a Bryant drive with a punt.

The takeaway gave LRCA an opportunity to extend its lead. Cucos made a field goal, but the Warriors accepted a roughing-the-kicker penalty for a first down and took the points off the board. Bryant then blocked Cucos’ subsequent 33-yard attempt, keeping the margin at 11 with 7:10 remaining.

Bryant mounted one final scoring drive. Chase Slater caught a fourth-and-three pass to keep it alive, and the Hornets scored with 1:37 left. Quinton Sykes Jr. took the snap on the conversion and passed to Slater, bringing Bryant within 25–22.

Bowman recovered the ensuing onside kick. After a 2-yard loss, Harp converted second-and-12 with a run that gave LRCA a fresh set of downs. Harp added another carry, Bryant exhausted its timeouts, and Hall knelt to finish the victory.

Scoring summary

First quarter

• 9:41 — Little Rock Christian: Eric Cucos, 22-yard field goal. LRCA 3–0.
• 5:44 — Little Rock Christian: Sawyer Henry, 9-yard pass from Haden Hall (Cucos kick). LRCA 10–0.

Second quarter

• Little Rock Christian: Safety. LRCA 12–0.
• 4:39 — Bryant: Kyler Shelby, 3-yard run (kick good). LRCA 12–7.
• 0:59 — Little Rock Christian: Grayson Raines, 1-yard run (Cucos kick). LRCA 19–7.

Third quarter

• 7:55 — Bryant: Touchdown pass (kick good). LRCA 19–14.

Fourth quarter

• Opening play — Little Rock Christian: Raines, touchdown run (pass failed). LRCA 25–14.
• 1:37 — Bryant: Touchdown pass (Chase Slater pass from Quinton Sykes Jr.). LRCA 25–22.

Players who stood out

• Grayson Raines, Little Rock Christian: Two rushing touchdowns, including a 1-yard score before halftime and the touchdown that extended the lead to 25–14.
• Haden Hall, Little Rock Christian: Threw a 9-yard touchdown to Henry, converted fourth-and-12 with a pass to Pickens and placed a punt at the Bryant 1 before the safety.
• Ridge Bowman, Little Rock Christian: Recovered Bryant’s final onside kick; converted fourth-and-two before Raines’ first touchdown and caught a third-down pass on LRCA’s final touchdown drive.
• Nick Harp, Little Rock Christian: Converted second-and-12 on LRCA’s final possession and pressured Shelby into a third-down incompletion earlier in the second half.
• Sawyer Henry, Little Rock Christian: Caught a 9-yard touchdown and added a first-down reception on the drive that produced LRCA’s final touchdown.
• Connor Johnson, Little Rock Christian: Intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play of the first half and downed a Hall punt at the Bryant 10 earlier in the quarter.
• Rece Hall, Little Rock Christian: Forced the fourth-quarter fumble recovered by Carlisle.
• Gideon Carlisle, Little Rock Christian: Recovered that fumble, forced a third-down incompletion with pressure and helped Luke McDonald stop Shelby for a loss in the third quarter.
• Blake Haughaboo, Little Rock Christian: Supplied a long run on LRCA’s second touchdown drive and caught a third-down pass to extend its final touchdown drive.
• Eric Cucos, Little Rock Christian: Made a 22-yard field goal and both extra-point kicks for five points.
• Kyler Shelby, Bryant: Scored on a 3-yard keeper to cut LRCA’s lead to 12–7 and directed the Hornets’ second-half comeback attempt.
• Chase Slater, Bryant: Caught a fourth-down pass on the final scoring drive and the two-point conversion that cut the deficit to three.
• Quinton Sykes Jr., Bryant: Threw the successful two-point conversion to Slater with 1:37 remaining.