ARP — The Arp Tigers routed Union Grove on Friday night, 53-0, at Bill Herrington Tiger Stadium. The Tigers held the Lions to nine first downs in the contest and remain undefeated in District 9-2A Division II.
Mikechell Potts, who led all rushers with 106 yards, scored on the Tigers’ second play of the game. He broke a run of 80 yards to put Arp up early.
Potts found the end zone on the Tigers’ next possession as well. After a three-and-out by Union Grove, Arp moved the ball 91 yards on eight plays. Kasey McClendon’s rush of 54 yards put the Tigers inside the 20, and on second-and-goal from the three, Potts scored.
Arp forced the Lions to punt for the third time in the contest, and on their next play Marcalas Johnson took the ball on an option pitch from Kyle Copeland 72 yards for the score.
The two teams traded fumbles later in the second quarter, setting Arp up for their fourth touchdown of the game. McClendon found the end zone for the first time of the night on a two-yard run.
Union Grove found some rhythm offensively following the score by McClendon. Their drive, however, stalled inside Tiger territory as the Lions failed to convert on a fourth-and-6.
Arp made the Lions pay for the turnover on downs and scored on the first play of their drive. Copeland found Michael Roberson on a seam pass for the 57-yard touchdown.
Things moved along quickly in the second half, as the Tigers only put one score on the board in the third quarter. McClendon scored for the second time on a two-yard run.
The Lions converted a fourth down on the following drive and moved the ball to the Tigers 32, but again their drive stalled and turned the ball over on downs.
Arp ran out the remaining time of the third quarter and scored with 11:06 to play on a fourth-and-12 pass by Copeland to Rusty Pearce.
The Tigers scored for the final time on an 88-yard interception return by Roberson.
Arp rushed the ball 22 times for 291 yards, and held the Lions to 128 yards on 44 carries. Hunter Gibson carried the load for Union Grove with 31 rushes for 96 yards.
Copeland completed all eight pass attempts for the Tigers for 165 yards. Half of his passes went to Pearce for 60 yards.
Arp continues their season with a trip to Winona next week, before ending the regular season at home against West Rusk.
Union Grove, now 1-2 in district play, returns home next week to face Frankston, and ends the season on the road against Joaquin. The Lions,