With the game tied, the West Memphis Blue Devils faced fourth and nine from their 37 on the opening possession of the second half.

Head coach Billy Elmore called for a fake punt.

Then he flinched.

"I looked up and saw it was fourth and nine, and I thought, 'Oh no," he said.

Elmore's brief fling with regret was rescued, however, by his newest offensive weapon. Senior linebacker, err, running back, Kendarious Moore, took the short snap and plowed through a huge hole on his way to a 63-yard touchdown that proved to be the key play in the Blue Devils' 33-28 victory over Lake Hamilton last Friday night at Hamilton-Shultz Field in the quarterfinals of the 6A state playoffs.

With the triumph, the Blue Devils (7-4) advance to their third straight semifinal appearance, this time with the club traveling to Benton this Friday night for the right to play in the state championship game.

This time the Blue Devils get to the semifinals with some ingenuity from the coaching staff and an opportunistic, diverse offensive scheme.

For just the third straight week, Moore played both sides of the ball and while the first two weeks were a mixed bag of results, the third time proved to be the most bountiful.

With regular quarterback Owens McConnell out of the game periodically, Moore lined up in the Wildcat formation with running back Cedric Loving and rushed 9 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns.

The biggest and most meaningful TD was the fake punt that, although did not totally deflate Lake Hamilton (9-3), it pumped new life into the Blue Devils for the rest of the game.

"I just trust old Elmore," said a gleeful Moore. "Whatever he calls, I'm gonna do it. If he tells me to run through a wall, I'm gonna do it. We always try to get set quick (on fourth down) so we can get the numbers."

Elmore pulled the right strings.

"We had the numbers," he said. "The whole right side was open."

Through the first half, Lake Hamilton outgained West Memphis 217-115 on the ground, although that figure was deceptive. One-hundred and twenty-one of those yards came on two big plays that accounted for the visitors' touchdowns.

With third-year head coach Tommy Gilleran at the controls, the Wolves have abandoned the wide-open spread offense that marked their success for a couple of decades and have instead gone to a wing-T that older West Memphis fans are familiar with.

For the most part, the Blue Devils defended Lake Hamilton effectively.

"There were some issues we had defending the wing-T tonight," Elmore said, referring to the two big plays in the first half. "I wasn't happy with that part of it."

The Blue Devil offense got a touchdown apiece from Moore and McConnell in the first half, but Lake Hamilton answered each West Memphis score with TDs of 64 and 57 yards.

Moore, however, was only getting started.

After his 63-yard TD in the third quarter, the Blue Devils padded the lead with a 27-yard field goal from Colin Clark for a 24-14 cushion.

Lake Hamilton ninth-grader Justin Crutchmer scored a 38-yard touchdown to trim the West Memphis margin to 24-21, but Moore answered immediately with a 58-yard touchdown with 9:31 left in the game to give the Blue Devils a 31-21 lead.

Moore said his comfort level on offense has not been an issue since Elmore made the decision to jump-start the unit by creating different looks.

"I played quarterback in Little League and I played on offense all the time in junior high," said Moore. "I always liked carrying the ball."

After another Lake Hamilton touchdown made it 31-28, the Blue Devil defense clinched it when Davion Eason, who had five sacks three weeks ago in Pine Bluff, sacked Lake Hamilton quarterback Zach Bradley in the end zone for a safety with 1:06 to play in the game.

Elmore's smile lit up where he stood at midfield after the game.

"You know, practicing on Thanksgiving is beginning to be a habit around here," he said, referring to the third straight semifinal berth. "We're proud of the kids and what they've accomplished so far, but we're not finished yet."