Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

8/31/2010 at 6:30am

Image by Mark Wagner

Vilonia's Michael Atkinson breaks through a tackle during the Eagles' 42-14 win over Sylvan Hills at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Mark Wagner

Sylvan Hills' Carrington North blocks a field goal in Vilonia's eventual 42-14 win in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Mark Wagner

Vilonia quarterback Drew Knowles breaks into a run during the Eagles' 42-14 win over Sylvan Hills at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Mark Wagner

Sylvan Hills' Trey Bone is stopped up the middle by the Vilonia defense in the Eagles' 42-14 win over the Bears at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Mark Wagner

Sylvan Hills' Willie Johnson fights for more yards in Vilonia's eventual 42-14 win at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Vilonia RB James Sax navigates around the Sylvan Hills defense during the Eagles' 42-14 win over the Bears in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Vilonia RB James Sax tries to shake loose from the Sylvan Hills defense during the Eagles' 42-14 win over the Bears in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Sylvan Hills quarterback Michael Maddox runs from the Vilonia defense during the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Sylvan Hills junior Trey Bone steps into the end zone for a touchdown in the first game of the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic. Vilonia won the contest 42-14.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Vilonia quarterback Drew Knowles takes a snap in the Eagles' 42-14 win against Sylvan Hills at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

The Sylvan Hills offense push past Vilonia in the first game of the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Vilonia fullback James Sax races around the Sylvan Hills defense.

Sylvan Hills' biggest fear was its inexperienced defense -- only one returning starter from last year -- being able to stop Vilonia. It proved to be an accurate assessment, as Vilonia drove to four touchdowns in four possessions for a 29-14 at the half, and the Eagles shut out the Bears in the second for a 42-14 win in the second Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic Monday at War Memorial Stadium.

Pulaski Academy and Central Arkansas Christian met in the second game Monday.

On Tuesday, Little Rock Parkview and Little Rock Mills tangle at 5 p.m., followed by Cabot and Jacksonville clashing at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 for the night and available at the stadium ticket offices.

Vilonia senior quarterback Drew Knowles scored on touchdown runs of 25 and 17 yards and passed 55 yards to Michael Atkinson for another touchdown, Knowles' only completion in five attempts. Knowles earned most valuable player honors with his 143 yards rushing on 12 carries, including a long of 44 yards.

"He did a great job reading the option," Eagles Coach Jim Stanley said, adding that Knowles would credit his offensive line for his success, which the quarterback indeed did.

"I gotta give all the credit to my offensive line," Knowles said. "The holes they opened were just huge. They've been working hard all summer. I did nothing. I just took off and ran to space."

Vilonia led 29-14 at the half, scoring on four straight possessions, including the fourth with 36 seconds left in the half. The Eagles' defense adjusted to Sylvan Hills' speed, misdirection and quick-pitch plays in the second half and pitched a shutout while pulling away to a 28-point win.

"I'm proud of my kids. They've worked so hard. We just have to get a lot better. We made a lot of mistakes," Stanley said. His team wore pink tape over the usual white stripe down the middle of its helmets in honor of Stanley's wife, who has been sick. Many Vilonia fans also honored the coach's wife by wearing pink T-shirts.

"It's a great honor for our kids to play here, to play where the Razorbacks play," Stanley said. "The kids worked hard this summer. This is a good reward for them."

Sylvan Hills punted away one possession in the first half -- actually, the Bears punted five times on the drive, four times in a row due to alignment penalties before Vilonia fumbled one of the punts away at the Eagles 49. Still, the Bears could not make that turnover count, and the one possession not scoring proved to be a 15-point difference at the half.

The Sylvan Hills punt left Vilonia with 98 yards to cover, and the Eagles did it in nine plays. Then, Vilonia scored in just 1:14 of the clock late in the second quarter after Sylvan Hills had driven 80 yards in 13 plays to cut a 15-point deficit to 7, 21-14, with 1:46 remaining in the half.

The Bears and Coach Jim Withrow gambled with an onsides kick that failed, and Vilonia covered 59 yards in 8 plays. Trey Lewis scored on fourth own from the Bears 19, breaking through right tackle, and Lewis also tacked on a 2-point conversion after the Bears were penalized on the PAT kick.

David Crume (4 yards), James Sax (15 yards) and quarterback Drew Knowles (25 yards) capped Vilonia's other three first-half possessions with touchdowns. Vilonia rushed 21 times for 270 yards and missed on four pass attempts.

Sylvan Hills stayed close with misdirection and the speed of backs Trey Bone and Nate Clark. Clark capped a 73-yard 11 play drive with a 2-yard run, and Bone went 2 yards at the end of the 80-play march late in the half. Clark had 74 yards rushing at the half.

Knowles, Vilonia's senior quarterback, had 116 yards rushing on 8 carries at the half. Vilonia finished with 394 yards rushing on 40 tries. After 154 yards at halftime, Sylvan Hills was held to 121 in the second half and had just 46 yards on five pass completions in 14 attempts.

Tagged: Vilonia Eagles, Sylvan Hills Bears, Jim Withrow, James Sax, Drew Knowles, Nate Clark, Trey Bone