Izard County High School was able to wrap up its inaugural season of eight-man football with a state championship. In a battle between Cougars, Izard County won the Classes 2A/1A state title game on Thursday by defeating Rector 36-26 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
After Rector scored the first two touchdowns of the game, Izard County finished the first half on a 20-0 run. Wyatt Buchanan completed two touchdown passes to Malachi Cruz and another to Tyler Hill during the run. Rector tied the game up in the third quarter, but Izard County later went back on top after Buchanan found Cruz in the end zone from 22 yards out. Rector cut the margin back to two with 8:25 left in the game, but six minutes later, Buchanan again connected with Cruz for a 24-yard score, and the two-point conversion put the game out of reach to secure the state championship for Izard County.
Buchanan was 24-of-45 through the air with 331 yards and five touchdowns. Cruz had 13 catches for 144 yards and four scores, and Hill caught eight receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown. For Rector, Drew Henderson ran the ball 37 times for 154 yards and four touchdowns, and Jacob Cox had 24 carries for 130 yards.
Cruz also provided plenty of defense with 24 tackles, including three for a loss. Buchanan, Gaven Stevens and Garrett Roberts each had nine tackles, Ashton Grisham recovered a fumble, and Hill returned an interception 21 yards.
After Izard County lost two of their first three games this season, they finished with eighth straight wins to finish the year at 9-2.
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