ARP — The Gladewater Bears won a battle of 3-1 teams as they defeated Arp, 21-13, at Bill Herrington Tiger Stadium on Friday night. The Bears rushed the ball 54 times for more than 200 yards.
Gladewater held Arp on the first possession of the contest. The Tigers failed to convert on fourth-and-2 from the Bears’ 41 and Gladewater scored on the next possession.
The score was set up by a 24-yard pass by Derrick Daniels to DL Davis. The Bears pounded the ball inside the 5 and Charles Gordon scored from four yards away.
Both teams traded punts and turnovers until the end of the quarter.
Gladewater moved the ball into Arp territory on a 17-play drive and the Bears converted a third-and-25 on a pass to Darion Gregory. The possession, however, stalled after a penalty and Gladewater failed to convert on fourth down.
Arp showed success on the following drive and moved the ball into the red zone. Kyle Copeland converted on fourth down on a fake punt but the Tigers later failed to convert on fourth-and-4 from the 19, and the half ended with Gladewater up a touchdown.
The Tigers scored on their first possession of the second half to tie the contest. Gladewater received the ball to start the third quarter and a bad snap on a punt attempt gave Arp short field position.
Arp took over at the 14 and scored on a 2-yard run by Mikechell Potts. Rusty Pearce split the uprights on the extra points to tie the game at seven.
After a failed conversion by Gladewater and a fumble by Arp, the Bears set up a four-play drive for a touchdown. Gordon set up the touchdown with a 23-yard rush to the 4. Gregory finished the drive on the next play to regain the lead for Gladewater.
The Bears stole seven more points on Arp’s next possession with EJ Hawthorne’s 60-yard interception return to put Gladewater up 21-7 with 1:31 to play in the third quarter.
Arp, however, scored a few drives later on an 11-yard run by Copeland. The point-after failed and the Tigers trailed by eight with 8:46 to play.
Gladewater fumbled on its next possession and Arp appeared to be on its way to scoring another touchdown. The Tigers had a first down from the 15 but after a false start penalty and fourth straight incompletion, they turned the ball over to Gladewater with two minutes left.
The Bears managed to run out the clock and steal the win in Arp. A 14-yard run by Gregory for a first down sealed the victory.
Gregory led the Bears with 114 yards on the ground. Gordon followed with 87 yards on 19 carries.
Daniels threw for 66 yards on four completions to four different Bear receivers.
Kyle Copeland led Arp with 99 yards in the air on eight completions. He also rushed for 32 yards in the loss.
Gladewater moved to 4-1 on the season. The only loss came in Week Two against Wills Point, 3-0.
Both teams begin district play in their next contest.