he Morrilton Devil Dogs still have a few hills to climb as they try and overcome two conference forfeits. But they have some footing. Quarterback Caleb Canady threw for 241 yards and found Deiontae Duncan with a trio of touchdowns Friday as Morrilton edged Alma, 28-26, in 5A-West play. Alma (3-3, 2-1) missed a couple of golden chances in the second and third quarters. And Canady made them pay. "We couldn't get off the field on third and fourth and long," Alma coach Doug Loughridge said. "We had opportunities to take advantage of things. We went for a 2-point conversion and couldn't make a yard-and-a-half. We just blew way too many opportunities tonight." Morrilton (1-5, 1-2) forfeited two earlier conference wins over Harrison and Greenbrier earlier in the week. But Canady didn't seem bothered by the distractions. The senior quarterback completed 8-of-9 second half pass attempts while helping to keep Alma quarterback Noah Dotson on the bench for much of the second half. When Dotson and the Airedales' offense did get going, it was almost too late. Dotson flipped a 3-yard touchdown pass to Garrison Jensen with 2:14 left, cutting the Devil Dogs' lead to two But Alma never got the ball back. "My hats off to Morrilton," Loughridge said. "They out-played us and out-schemed us." Alma probably felt like it could have had a first half lead. And by at least two touchdowns. Then again, both Airedale touchdowns were the result of a bad play by Morrilton kicker Jesus Arias and a flea-flicker touchdown pass. After stopping Danny Smith on fourth-and-1 on the Devil Dogs' first series, Alma drove 99 yards for the first score of the night. Dotson's 52-yard pass to a wide open Connor Huff, via the flea-flicker, put the Airedales ahead, 6-0, with 5:45 to play in the first half. Canady, who threw for 161 first half yards, set up Morrilton's first score by hitting Graham Heidenreich with a 51-yard pass play to the Airedales' 4. Two plays later, Oshae Erby skipped in from the 1 to put Morrilton ahead 7-6. Both teams settled in defensively until Alma struck for its second TD thanks a poor snap on fourth down. Arias covered up the ball at the Alma 37, and on the very next play Dotson hit Brayden Harris with a 37-yard touchdown pass with 5:19 left in the first half. Alma failed to convert the 2-point conversion and led 12-7. The Airedales were poised to extend the lead when Eli Howell returned an interception to the Morrilton 47. Alma picked up another 15 yards on a personal foul penalty, and after Jensen's 10-yard run to the 22, and Dotson's 7-yard burst to the 15, Alma appeared to be moving. Morrilton stopped Alma on third-and-short, and after burning a timeout, Dotson threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-three. The Devil Dogs, who had been a bit flat following its second offensive series, found a heartbeat two plays after Dotson's incompletion when Canady fired a 40-yard strike to Duncan. After a 15-yard pass play to Laken Dillard, Alma forced Morrilton into a fourth-and-nine from the 26. Canady hit Smith on a 9-yard screen to move the chains, and on the next play Canady found Duncan over the middle for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds left in the first half. Dotson's 28-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Crims gave the Airedales a brief 19-14 lead early in the second half.