Benton rolls all over host Siloam Springs
BENTON 66, SILOAM SPRINGS 29
SILOAM SPRINGS — With Siloam Springs looking to steal some early momentum, Benton’s proved to be opportunistic Friday night.
Benton forced a three-andout defensively right after Siloam Springs had recovered an onside kick in the first quarter with the score tied 3-3.
On the first play after a Siloam Springs punt, Benton’s Cameron Harris took a short pass from Stran Smith 70 yards for a touchdown and a 10-3 lead.
Just a few plays later, Benton’s Chris Barnard returned an interception for a touchdown. Benton rolled from there to a 66-29 mercy rule victory on homecoming at Panther Stadium.
It all started with getting momentum back after Siloam Springs recovered an onside kick, according to Benton Coach Brad Harris.
“That was a big stop,” Harris said. “Our defense played well through that sequence. Got a couple of punts and then we played well. I’m excited about the direction we’re headed. We’ve just got to sure up the defense and we’re making some plays offensively right now.”
Benton (4-1, 2-0 6A-West) scored 35 unanswered points in the first half and went into halftime leading 52-16.
After Barnard’s pick six in the first quarter, Benton’s offensive really got rolling in the second quarter.
Benton rushed for 79 yards on 12 carries and had three touchdown runs from Brandon Johnson. Harris also caught two more touchdown passes from Smith of 15 yards and 75 yards.
Smith completed 10 of 12 passes in the second quarter alone for 188 yards. Smith finished the night 20-of-27 passing for 417 yards and 4 touchdown passes.
Cameron Harris had 7 catches for 213 yards and 3 TDs.
Benton piled up 538 yards of offense with Brandon Johnson rushing 11 times for 65 yards and 3 TDs.
“Cam’s a guy for us, man and he had a really good night tonight,” Brad Harris said. “We targeted him a few times. Both of our running backs ran the ball well, Casey and Brandon Johnson, and Stran had a heck of a night throwing it.”
Siloam Springs (1-4, 0-2) finished with 466 yards of offense but had three turnovers.
“You know we never got going offensively in the first half the way we needed to,” Siloam Springs Coach Brandon Craig said. “We put our defense out there way too much.”
Hunter Talley completed 22 of 38 passes for 322 yards and rushed for 58 yards. Jed Derwin rushed for 51 yards for Siloam Springs.
Brendan Lashley caught nine passes for 103 yards, while Jonathan Graves had four catches for 79 yards. Patrick Church caught two passes for 91 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown from Talley in the second quarter.