Gorilla football loses finale

SPRINGDALE - A handful of spectators braved frigid temperatures to watch Mary Walker (Springdale) defeat Davenport 42-28 Friday, Oct. 27, in the last game of the season.

In its inaugural season of playing 8-man football, Davenport was unable to schedule a complete slate of games. Because of that, the 13-player squad had only four games under their belt when they took on Mary Walker, which had already played eight.

Early on, it appeared Mary Walker was the more experienced team as the Chargers marched down the field on their opening drive and converted a fourth down pass into a touchdown. With the successful conversion, Mary Walker led 8-0.

Davenport immediately responded with a drive of its own. Quarterback Joel Odenrider completed passes to David Coriell and Holden Moriuchi to take the Gorillas deep into Mary Walker territory.

Odenrider finished the drive with a one-yard keeper for Davenport's first points. With 11:00 left in the half, the Chargers led 8-6.

Two minutes later, Mary Walker scored on a 25-yard pass to increase its lead to 16-6.

After the ensuing kickoff, the Gorillas moved the ball from midfield into the Chargers' red zone. Odenrider tucked the ball and sprinted 14-yards to score his second touchdown of the half to make the score 16-12 with 7:53 left on the clock.

Like lightning, Mary Walker struck again.

It took two plays for the Chargers to cover 50 yards and find pay dirt on an 11-yard run, extending their lead to 22-12. Mary Walker recovered its onside kick and scored on a 22-yard pass to give them a 28-12 lead at the half.

The Gorillas turned to the passing game to start the second half. Odenrider teamed up with Corriell on a 55-yard touchdown strike for six points.

Odenrider ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 28-12 with 9:00 minutes left in the third quarter.

Once again, the Chargers answered. This time it took three minutes to score a touchdown to extend their lead to 36-20.

They scored one last time to make the score 42-20.

The Gorillas scored two points on a safety, and after receiving the ensuing free kick, Odenrider plowed into the endzone for a touchdown.

Mary Walker won 42-28.

"I'm so proud of my guys," Davenport head coach Tim Rasmussen said. "For a year that was up and down, I could not be more proud of them. They dealt with adversity all year long and all night long and still came out and played hard."

The win improved the Chargers' record to 2-7. Davenport ended its season with a record of 3-2.