Wolverines pass test to open league schedule

BENTONVILLE WEST 43, VAN BUREN 28

VAN BUREN — Bentonville West made plays in all three phases of the game Friday to take a big first-quarter lead at Blakemore Field.

West then took that momentum and didn’t look back in a 43-28 victory against Van Buren in the 7A-West Conference season-opening game.

The Wolverines needed just six plays to score twice to open the game backed behind a defense that forced a three-and-out and recovered a fumble. West even scored a first-quarter special teams touchdown to add to its big lead.

“We wanted to come out early and play well,” Bentonville West coach Bryan Pratt said. “I thought we got a good rhythm. We did what we do. We had a couple mistakes, but we played well on offense, defense and special teams.”

West, who took a 36-7 lead heading into halftime, jumped out to an 8-0 lead after forcing a threeand-out on defense then needed just three plays to score the first touchdown of the game.

Junior quarterback Will Jarrett found junior wide receiver Dakota McDonald for a 16-yard score. After a Van Buren penalty after the score, junior kicker Blake McDoulett passed it to junior Kendall Young for a two-point conversion.

West continued to find success after that, as it scored on six of its nine first-half possessions to build its big lead.

After the Wolverines recovered a Van Buren fumble, it took just three more plays to extend the lead out to 15-0 with a 9-yard run from sophomore Jonas Higson.

Van Buren lined up for a 38-yard field goal on its next possession, but it was blocked. West sophomore Brandon Humes then recovered the ball and took it the distance for a 67-yard score.

The special-teams score gave West a 22-0 lead with 4 minutes, 6 seconds left in the first quarter.

“It was a big deal for us,” Pratt said. “We work really hard on all aspects of the game, but we don’t take off for special teams.”

West pushed its advantage out to 36-0 with a 3-yard touchdown run from Jarrett and then a 2-yard score on the ground from Jadon Jackson in the second quarter.

Jackson led the way for West finishing with seven catches for 179 yards with a touchdown catch along with a touchdown rush.

“We use him in a lot of ways,” Pratt said of Jackson. “We look for all different ways to get him the ball. We try to cause some problems and make them adjust. We take what is given to us as well.”

Jarret finished 12 of 19 passing for 275 yards with a touchdown for the Wolverines. Higson added 67 yards on the ground on just nine carries with a score for West.

Van Buren scored on its final possession of the first half then outscored West 21-7 in the second half as the offense found much more success in the second half.

Senior quarter Caleb Salisbury, starting his first game of the season because of injury, completed just 5 of 16 passes in the first half but finished 14 of 29 for 266 yards including 3 touchdowns in the game.

“We got a lot of build from,” Van Buren coach Greg Werner said. “From the second quarter on, I felt like we played really well. But you have to show that from the start. There were some adjustments with a new quarter back.”

Senior running back Walter Green finished with 39 yards of rushing with a touchdown along with 81 yards receiving with an additional touchdown to help the Van Buren offense.