Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Quietly clutch
Wolverines’ Prince doesn’t mind lack of attention
CENTERTON — The less attention Jackson Prince draws to himself on the football field, the better he likes it.
The Bentonville West senior wide receiver does his best work when opposing defenses place their priority on stopping Wolverines teammate Jadon Jackson, and Prince has learned to do it in a variety of ways.
“I can play a lot of positions,” Prince said. “I play inside receiver or outside receiver, and I have to know every position because I’m helping the wide receiver corps, making sure they know what they are doing and staying focused.
“A lot of teams are focusing on Jadon most of the time, and that allows the other receivers to open up. That gives the rest of us opportunities to get those touches, get into the end zone and a lot of yardage. That’s a good asset for us.”
Like many Bentonville West players, Prince benefited from solely focusing on one position this season after many had to play both offense and defense last year because of the Wolverines’ lack of depth. He immediately showed his impact this season when he caught five passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns in West’s season-opening win over Pryor, Okla.
Prince’s defining moment, however, came during West’s 38-28 victory over defending state champion Fayetteville during a Week 5 game at Tiger Stadium. Prince finished the game with seven receptions for 112 yards, and he had to battle a Purple’Dog defender for the ball and hauled in a touchdown pass that broke a 28-28 tie and put the Wolverines ahead for good.
“Jackson just played lights out when Fayetteville was trying to go one-on-one against him,” West coach Bryan Pratt said. “I wouldn’t say he’s a possession guy because we will throw it over the top with him, but he is a guy during short-yardage stuff or comeback stuff, you can bet money on him.
“He’s one of the guys when teams try to double-team Jadon, he’s going to take advantage of it. He’s caught a lot of balls, and he’s very coachable. The kid’s going to do anything we ask him to do. He puts the team first with no complaints.”
Prince enters today’s Class 7A state quarterfinal game against Conway with 29 receptions for 504 yards and three touchdowns, and none of it comes easy. He’s had to make a number of catches while diving for the ball, and it’s hard to determine if he or Stefan Banda leads the team in diving catches.
“I think I had a couple of those in our last game against
Bentonville,” Prince said. “I think that’s the way it works out.”
Prince also provides the Wolverines an added bonus with his ability to field punts and return them when given the opportunity. His numbers — 10 punt returns for 37 yards — aren’t outstanding in that department, but what is hidden there is the yardage he’s saved West’s offense by simply fielding the ball for a fair catch instead of taking a chance and letting the ball bounce.
“I think Jackson’s most valuable thing is what he does on punt returns,” Pratt said. “He catches them. When you let the ball go and hit the ground, there’s an average of about 18 yards that you lose because of it, and we’ve had guys in the past that won’t go and catch them.
“He’s pretty fearless back there, and he has no problem running after the ball and catching them. That has given us a lot of yards. Instead of the offense having to start inside the 20, he can catch the ball and put us out around the 30 or 40. So he’s very valuable in the special teams aspect as well.”