Bentonville gets defensive in win

FORT SMITH — If Bentonville’s win streak was going to remain intact, the defense had to rise to the occasion Friday night.

The Tigers stood their ground and stopped Fort Smith Northside on two fourth-down plays in the final 13 minutes, then David Nichols added a late touchdown run to give Bentonville a 21-10 victory during 7A-West Conference action at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.

“Defensively, our guys played real well,” Bentonville coach Jody Grant said. “We had some big-time stops on fourth down, and we challenged them a lot out there with some of the things we were doing. Northside was operating a little bit offensively, and I was pleased with the way we played.”

Bentonville (5-0, 2-0) took a 14-10 lead into the fourth quarter but appeared to be in trouble when Matt Crenshaw fumbled after a pass reception on the following play. Trey Norwood recovered the loose

ball and gave Northside (1-4, 0-2) a chance to take the lead with the ball on the Tigers 29.

Northside then faced fourth-and-1 again at the Bentonville 20 three plays later and decided to keep things on the ground. Max Frazier went to his left on a quarterback keeper, but the Tigers’ defense was there to stop him for no gain with 10 minutes, 59 seconds left to play.

“Fourth down and less than 1, you’ve got to make it,” Northside coach Mike Falleur said. “That’s the difference in

the ball game. You’ve got to make those.

“We just shot ourselves in the foot. We played great, but it wasn’t enough. We have to keep working.”

Bentonville’s defense shouldered the load after the Tigers had their worst offensive outing of the season and was outgained by a 358-222 margin. Logan Darby’s interception on the opening drive set up Jacob Clark’s 3-yard touchdown run less than 2 minutes into the game, and the defense made key stops in the first half — one on a fourth-down pass play and another on a first-and-goal play from the Bentonville 2 to end the first half.

That allowed the Tigers to take a 14-3 halftime lead, but Northside made things interesting when Kiondre Thomas ran 87 yards for a touchdown and made it a one-possession game with 4:48 left in the third quarter. The Grizzlies then drove to the Bentonville 28 on their next possession before a Tiger defense deflected a fourth-down pass to end the drive.

“That’s all that matters is that win,” Grant said.

Bentonville then put its lead out of reach when Nichols — who had only five carries before Friday’s game — bolted up the middle for a 27-yard touchdown run with 8:02 remaining. Northside tried to make it a one-score game again, but Jose Perades was short on a 49-yard fieldgoal attempt with 2:43 remaining.