Sylvan Hills Pulls Away From Central in 53-34 Season Opener
Sylvan Hills 53, Little Rock Central 34
LITTLE ROCK — Sylvan Hills turned an early special-teams touchdown into a 53-34 season-opening victory over Little Rock Central on Friday at Quigley Stadium in coach Trey Schucker’s Sylvan Hills debut.
The Bears struck first after Central’s opening possession ended with a bad punt snap. Kyrie Lebron recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a 7-0 lead. Central answered behind Trey Stewart, who scored on an outside run to tie it, then moved ahead 13-7 when Montrell Thompson found Ricky Gaston for a touchdown.
Sylvan Hills responded before the first quarter ended. Caden Burnett connected with Kadon Williamson for a touchdown with 15 seconds left, putting the Bears back in front 14-13.
The Bears created separation in the second quarter. A fourth-down stop led by George Brown ended a Central drive in Sylvan Hills territory. Will Moore later scored on the ground, and E.J. Duckery added another rushing touchdown with 48 seconds left, giving Sylvan Hills a 27-13 halftime lead.
Burnett opened the second half with a touchdown pass to Zeke Carrethers. Stewart immediately answered with another touchdown run, cutting the margin to 34-20. Sylvan Hills then scored twice more in the third quarter — a short Preston Strong run and a 54-yard Burnett-to-Carrethers touchdown — to lead 47-20.
Burnett’s fourth touchdown pass went to Williamson early in the fourth quarter, making it 53-20. Central continued to produce points. Stewart scored his third rushing touchdown, and Gaston returned an interception for a touchdown to make it 53-34.
Central generated repeated explosive plays through Stewart and its RPO game, while Gaston produced touchdowns on offense and defense. Sylvan Hills finished with four Burnett touchdown passes, two Carrethers receiving scores and two Williamson receiving scores. Harrison Merchant intercepted a late Central pass to close the game.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Sylvan Hills – Kyrie Lebron recovered bad punt snap in end zone (kick good), Sylvan Hills 7-0
Little Rock Central – Trey Stewart rushing touchdown (kick good), 7-7
Little Rock Central – Ricky Gaston touchdown reception from Montrell Thompson (kick no good), Central 13-7
Sylvan Hills – Kadon Williamson touchdown reception from Caden Burnett (kick good), Sylvan Hills 14-13
2nd Quarter
Sylvan Hills – Will Moore rushing touchdown (kick no good), Sylvan Hills 20-13
Sylvan Hills – E.J. Duckery rushing touchdown (kick good), Sylvan Hills 27-13
3rd Quarter
Sylvan Hills – Zeke Carrethers touchdown reception from Burnett (kick good), Sylvan Hills 34-13
Little Rock Central – Trey Stewart rushing touchdown (kick good), Sylvan Hills 34-20
Sylvan Hills – Preston Strong rushing touchdown (kick good), Sylvan Hills 41-20
Sylvan Hills – Zeke Carrethers 54-yard touchdown reception from Burnett (PAT failed after bad snap), Sylvan Hills 47-20
4th Quarter
Sylvan Hills – Kadon Williamson touchdown reception from Burnett (kick no good), Sylvan Hills 53-20
Little Rock Central – Trey Stewart rushing touchdown (kick good), Sylvan Hills 53-27
Little Rock Central – Ricky Gaston interception return for touchdown (kick good), Sylvan Hills 53-34
Players Who Stood Out
Caden Burnett, Sylvan Hills QB — Threw 4 touchdown passes in his first varsity start: two to Kadon Williamson and two to Zeke Carrethers. One of the Carrethers scores covered 54 yards.
Zeke Carrethers, Sylvan Hills WR — Caught 2 touchdown passes, including a 54-yard score in the third quarter. His first touchdown helped extend the halftime lead to 34-13 on the opening possession of the second half.
Kadon Williamson, Sylvan Hills WR — Caught 2 touchdown passes. His first came with 15 seconds left in the first quarter to give Sylvan Hills a 14-13 lead; his second pushed the lead to 53-20 early in the fourth.
Trey Stewart, Little Rock Central RB — Scored 3 rushing touchdowns — one in the first quarter, one immediately after Sylvan Hills scored to open the second half, and another in the fourth quarter.
Ricky Gaston, Little Rock Central TE/DE — Accounted for 2 touchdowns in two different ways. Gaston caught a first-quarter touchdown pass that gave Central a 13-7 lead, then returned an interception for a fourth-quarter touchdown to produce the final 53-34 score.