Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Crawford a good choice for Bentonville
BENTONVILLE — There were plenty of playmakers that had the opportunities to prove themselves during Bentonville High’s season opener Saturday afternoon.
But when the Tigers were close to the goal line, they turned to a tried and true option.
Senior tailback Preston Crawford only had nine carries, but four of them went for touchdowns as Bentonville rolled to a 54-21 victory over Midwest City, Okla., at Tiger Stadium.
“You talk about the experience he’s had with the ball in his hands, and he’s done great things with it,” Bentonville coach Jody Grant said. “We have talented backs. Colby Ried is a talented back as well, so we’re excited about our one-two punch.
“But we have an all-state man in Preston Crawford. He understands things, has great vision and did some great things.”
Bentonville (1-0) had trouble with the snap from center early in the game, and it allowed Midwest City to own a 14-6 lead before the Tigers went to work and ran off 48 unanswered points. Crawford capped the next two Bentonville possessions with 3-yard touchdown runs, and the second one put Bentonville ahead 20-14 with 6 minutes, 35 seconds before halftime.
Andrew Edwards, who split time with Ben Pankau as the Tigers’ quarterback, capped the next drive with a 36-yard run. Bentonville capped the first-half scoring with Crawford’s third touchdown, this time a 12-yard run with 17 seconds left in the first half.
“I prefer touchdowns over yards every time,” Crawford said. “I credit the offensive line because they were opening up huge holes for me. I just hit them and smoked it through.
“On that 12-yard touchdown run, there was just this huge gap. I swear, it was crazy.”
Pankau, who put Bentonville on the scoreboard with a 41-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, accounted for the Tigers’ two touchdowns in the third quarter. He muscled his way into the end zone to complete an 11-yard run, then he hit Trenton Kolb in stride for a 41-yard touchdown pass with 7:15 left in the third quarter.
Crawford then capped the outburst and forced the running clock when he scored from a yard out with 10:48 remaining.
“We’re going to be multiple on offense,” Grant said. “We’ll try to get the ball in the right people’s hands. I think every one of our receivers caught a ball at some point. So yeah, we like the way we’re operating and doing things — playing two quarterbacks, multiple backs, several receivers.
“We even got the ball to our tight ends. So it was a successful day offensively.”
FOUR DOWNS
■ Bentonville outgained Midwest City by a 479-201 margin in total offense, with most of the Bombers’ yardage coming after the game was out of reach.
■ Bentonville even let players on special teams split the workload. Senior Elliot Nimrod and Logan Turner took turns kicking the extra points, while Nimrod handled kickoffs and Turner having the only punt.
■ The future of the “Rumble of the Ozarks” doubleheader, which began last year, is uncertain for future dates. Grant recently said Bentonville has only one of its three nonconference games scheduled — Week 1 against Conway — but there are things in the works to add other opponents.
■ Bentonville returns to action Friday with a home nonconference game against Conway. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.