Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

8/31/2010 at 7:42pm

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Mills QB Chris Hampton charges against Parkview senior DT Quinton Bradley in the Comets' 28-20 win over the Patriots at the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Parkview senior RB Chris McClendon attracts the attention of the Mills defense in the Comets' 28-20 loss to the Patriots at the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Mills senior quarterback Chris Hamption (1) is guarded by senior RB Michael Mayon from Parkview senior DB Caelon Harden in the Comets' 28-20 win over the Patriots in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Parkview sophomore quarterback Caelon Harden pushes past a Mills defender in the Patriots' 28-20 loss at the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Mills senior RB Scott Jones tears away from Parkview defenders in the Comets' 28-20 win over the Patriots in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic.

Image by Amy Glover Bryant

Mills senior running back Michael Mayon penatrates the end zone with 5:32 left in the Comets' 28-20 win over Parkview in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic.

Image by Mark Wagner

Parkview senior RB Chris McClendon breaks free and runs for a touchdown in Little Rock Mills' 28-20 win during the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Mark Wagner

Parkview's Caelon Harden prepares for a hit from a Mills defender during the Comets' 28-20 win in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Mark Wagner

Parkview sophomore QB Caelon Harden is tackled by Mills senior DB Chris Roberts in the Comets' 28-20 win in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Mark Wagner

Mills senior RB Chris Roberts is tackled by Parkview junior CB Alex Cottrell in the Comets' 28-20 win in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Mark Wagner

Parkview senior RB Chris McClendon rushes past Mills junior DB Henry Gadsen in Mills' 28-20 win in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Image by Mark Wagner

Mills senior RB Scott Jones breaks from a Parkview tackle in the Comets' 28-20 win over the Patriots in the 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic at War Memorial Stadium.

Photographs by Amy Glover Bryant © 2010, all rights reserved, Arkansas Sports Photography.

Chris Hampton and the several of his Little Rock Mills Comets were cramping do to the heat and humidity of Tuesday evening after halftime, and Little Rock Parkview seemed to come alive at the same time, eventually tying the game at 20-20 with 5:12 left to play.

But Hampton, the Comets' senior quarterback, righted himself and his team for one drive after Parkview had stormed back to within 2 at 14-12, then took the Comets on a game-winning 68-yard drive, scoring on fourth down from the 1-yard line with 35 seconds left for a 28-20 victory in the First Security Bank Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic.

Hampton and Parkview senior running back Chris McClendon were in a fight for game most valuable player honors on the War Memorial Stadium turf. McClendon scored three touchdowns for the Patriots in the second half and tied the game at 20 with a a 2-point run around left end untouched.

But Parkview didn't get the ball back until 35 seconds remained and 72 yards to cover with no timeouts. That was too much to ask.

Yet the fans were left with a thriller, even if it wasn't the most well-played contest. Parkview lost two fumbles and had two interceptions, all in the first half. Mills coughed up five fumbles and lost two.

Hampton recovered one of Parkview's fumbles, made a saving tackle on a kickoff return and scored three touchdowns, plus adding two extra-point kicks. He capped the night with a two-point pass to Johnathan Foster to set the final margin, and took home the MVP trophy.

"Our guys were collapsing all over the place with cramps and we didn't look very well conditioned after the first half," Mills coach Patrick Russell said. "Coach [William] Hardiman did a great job with his guys and Parkview did a great job of fighting back. But then they looked like they were running out of gas and we seemed to look better conditioned there in the late going."

Hampton hit 7 of 9 passes for 88 yards, including a 17-yard dart to Terrell Johnson early in the winning drive. Hampton's team-high 92 yards rushing on 26 carries included a 21-yard keeper to start the march. With the ball  sitting a few inches shy of the goal line and 2 minutes left, Mills appeared certain to score, but an illegal procedure penalty on second down moved the ball to the 5. Hampton called his number three straight plays, sneaking over left guard for the score.

Of his quarterback Hampton, Russell said, "That's what a leader does is lead, and he did that. He did a great job on both the touchdown drives there in the fourth quarter."

Hampton scored on runs of 9 and 13 yards in the first half, and Mills seemed in control at 14-0 at the break. But Parkview and McClendon came roaring back, and sophomore quarterback Caelon Harden also added some spark with his quickness in the second half in place of sophomore starter Alex Butler.

McClendon scored on runs of 6 and 3 yards, and Parkview appeared to have tied the game at 14 when McClendon rolled in around right end for a two-point run. However, Mills was flagged for jumping offsides before the snap - in high school football the play is immediately dead. Given another snap from the 1 1/2-yard line, the Patriots saw McClendon swarmed at left tackle.

Hampton, who missed a series in the third quarter, returned to guide a 71-yard march in nine plays, capped by fullback Michael Mayon's bulling run up the middle from 3-yards out with 5:32 left. But on the third attempt at an extra point that would have put Mills up by 9, Hampton's kick was blocked.

McClendon and Parkview needed just 20 seconds to tie the game. McClendon roared up the middle and dodge a couple of futile tackle attempts to ramble 56 yards for the score, and went in untouched for the 2-points and the 20-all tie with 5:12 to go.

Tagged: Little Rock Mills Comets, Little Rock Parkview Patriots, 2010 Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic, War Memorial Stadium, Patrick Russell, William Hardiman, Chris Hampton