Van Buren retains ‘Battle of the Bone’ trophy with win over Alma

ALMA, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The message to the Van Buren Pointers trailing 27-17 in the fourth quarter: “Keep playing.”

That’s what Van Buren (1-0) did, scoring 20 unanswered points in the final 7 minutes to defeat the Alma Airedales (0-1) 37-27 in the “Battle of the Bone” rivalry game at Citizens Bank Field in Alma on Thursday night.

Hogs shut out UAPB 70-0 in season opener in Little Rock

This is the second year in a row the Pointers have taken home the rivalry-game victory over the Airedales, defeating Alma 51-28 a year ago.

“If you keep playing, good things are going to happen,” Van Buren head coach Moe Henry said after the win. “The whole time our offense was struggling to be able to have something good happen, our defense kept finding ways to get the ball back to us, and that was the difference in the game.”

Van Buren senior running back Cameron Keller plunged into the end zone from two yards out with 26 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, giving the Pointers a 30-27 lead — their first since 3-0 early in the first quarter.

With one last chance, Alma senior quarterback Michael Taylor threw a game-sealing pick-6 to senior defensive back Caden Webb, putting the lid on Van Buren’s comeback victory.

The turning point in the second half came with about 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on a long touchdown pass to Van Buren senior wide receiver Weston Wilcox, cutting into Alma’s lead 27-23 following a botched extra point attempt.

WATCH: Sam Pittman, players recap 70-0 blowout of UAPB

“It was humongous,” Henry said. “A lot of our big plays was on big plays. We had a lot of good guys that did some good things today. That’s what we needed out of Weston at that moment to come in clutch for us, and he did.”

Alma held a 20-17 halftime lead following the first of two touchdown runs from running back Israel Towns-Robinson, a blocked punt return touchdown for Byron Standridge and a 1-yard plunge for Samuel Schlegel. Following a field goal, Van Buren wide receiver Trenton Cooley scored the Pointers’ two first-half touchdowns.

Henry said the “Battle of the Bone” trophy is “comfortable” and “in a good spot” with Van Buren.

The Pointers host Springdale on Sept. 6 in their home opener, as Alma will head to Siloam Springs next Thursday.