MAUMELLE -- It was what the Maumelle Hornets needed, a somewhat easy homecoming victory as they began their drive toward a possible conference championship.
The Hornets (4-2, 2-1 5A-Central) crushed the Watson Chapel Wildcats 50-12 on Thursday night at Hornets Stadium in Maumelle. It was their second straight victory in conference play.
"It was good to get a good comfortable win on homecoming night,'' Coach Brian Maupin said. "We have some guys who are banged up and it was good to take care of business, get the clock rolling and get some guys off the field so we can get healthy and give some young guys the opportunity to make plays."
The Hornets took the lead on their first drive with a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Ashton Sherman. They followed that with a 32-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Levi Warrior to Jackson Hampton to make it 10-0.
Miscues by Watson Chapel (1-5, 0-3) led to the next four Maumelle scores.
Austin Timmons' interception set up a 15-yard touchdown pass from Warrior to Marshaun Wiley to make it 17-0 on the first play of the second quarter.
Jaiden Grabriel recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff before Warrior and Wiley connected again, this time from 8 yards out. It was 23-0 after a missed extra point.
The first of two Derrick Palmer interceptions set up a 13-yard pass from Warrior to Josiah Warrior-Benson and his second interception set up a 29-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Bjork to Warrior-Benson, this one from 29 yards, as the Hornets led 36-0 with 8:20 left in the half.
Watson Chapel connected on a 65-yard scoring pass from Malachi Rayford to Javeon Williams with 7:26 left in the half.
It was 43-6 at halftime after Bjork scored on a 14-yard run.
In the second half, the Hornets scored on a 38-yard pass from Bjork to Bralon Crosby.
Rayford and Williams connected for the final Watson Chapel score. Williams caught 3 passes for 127 yards.
Warrior finished 9 of 16 for 130 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Bjork was 9 of 14 for 119 yards and a TD. He also ran for 40 yards. Wiley rushed for 51 yards and caught 2 passes for 23 yards.
"We have dropped two that I thought we could have been more competitive in, but I feel like we are in a really good position," Maupin said. "It is not our dream position, but we are in the driver's seat of where we are going to be seeding wise. ... If we want to win the conference championship, all we have to do is win out."
Photo GalleryHS Football: Watson Chapel at Maumelle