Frazier’s big night fuels Raiders By Ben Cowens, Sun staff writer JONESBORO — Joe Frazier said he's never had a better game in his school career than the one he played Friday night. His stats certainly back up the claim. Frazier, Nettleton's junior running back, rushed 11 times for 200 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Raiders to an impressive 48-6 triumph over Paragould. A week after quarterback Jaylin Small gashed Blytheville for more than 200 yards, the Raiders made it a priority to lessen the load on their senior signal caller. Frazier responded by running rampant across the turf at Raider Field all night long. His runs covered 38, 84 and 65 yards, much to the delight of head coach Steve Hampton. "He made some runs and broke some tackles and ran the ball hard," Hampton said. "Then when he got into the open field he just turned on the jets." Frazier wasn't the only running back to reach the end zone. Montel Moore scored on a 78-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring. As a team the Raiders rushed for 340 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries — an average of 13.1 yards per carry. Frazier credited his offensive line for creating running lanes all night long. "I did pretty good but I have to give it to my offensive line," Frazier said. "They made a lot of big holes for me and when you get the opportunities (for yardage), you've just got to take them. That's what I did. They did a tremendous job." Frazier's career night began with two first-quarter touchdowns. He broke a pair of tackles on a 38-yard run up the middle to make it 7-0. It was the kind of run Frazier said he wouldn't have finished off with a touchdown a year ago. "I just worked on being more explosive and physical and aggressive," Frazier said. "I don't like to get hit on the first tackle (attempt). "I wasn't as fast, and I was kind of nervous last year (as a sophomore). This year I'm more comfortable, and I see the whole field." Frazier added an 84-yard touchdown sprint with 37 seconds remaining in the first quarter. He took the handoff on a sweep to the right and turned up field. He sprinted away from the trailing defense and gave Nettleton (4-2, 2-1 5A-East) a 13-0 lead. His final touchdown came in the fourth quarter — a 65-yarder — and gave Nettleton a 41-6 lead that put the running clock into effect. A week after rushing for just 57 yards, Frazier on Friday night completed two different runs that eclipsed that total. "Going into the week, we wanted to try to take some pressure off of Jaylin," Hampton said. "Last week he had 28 carries and that's not something we want to do all the time. We wanted to take some hits off of him and get more guys involved and that started with Joe." Small did his part as well. The senior ran for 56 yards but didn't do most of his damage on the ground. He also went 9-for-12 passing with three touchdown passes — two to Stanley Wilson. His first touchdown of the night went to Wilson, who was streaking free for a 56-yard score to make it 20-0. After Dylan Hoggard's 25-yard touchdown run pulled Paragould to within 20-6, Small led a six-play, 65-yard drive and found Wilson on a fade pattern in the corner of the end zone. The 8-yard pass was thrown perfectly and Wilson contorted his body and got both feet down before tumbling out of bounds. Nettleton led 27-6 at halftime, but didn't slow down. Small's final touchdown pass of the game made it 34-6. He found Colby Crite for a 53-yard touchdown as the Paragould defense crept up in an effort to slow the running game. With everyone on offense playing well, the Raiders managed to rack up 496 yards of total offense. "When we play like we did tonight and we get more people involved and we're able to throw the ball effectively, then that just opens up the run even more," Hampton said. "It just makes things so much easier. When you're one-dimensional it makes it tough. Senior Dylan Hoggard was a bright spot of Paragould (2-4, 0-3 5A-East). He rushed for 117 yards on 24 carries. Sophomore Zachary Hoggard took over at quarterback early in the game and had some moments as well. He lofted a perfect pass to Darrin Addison for a 27-yard gain. The younger Hoggard threw for 30 yards and added 63 yards rushing. Nettleton's defense held Paragould to 196 total yards and just six first downs — none in its final four drives of the game. Nettleton travels to Greene County Tech next week, while Paragould visits Forrest City. bcowens@jonesborosun.com