Bentonville top of class in 7A-West

After three weeks of conference play, Bentonville has placed itself in a familiar position atop the 7A-West standings.

The Tigers (5-1, 3-0) are the only unbeaten team in league play following their impressive 42-7 victory over Rogers Heritage, and how they got there has been no different than Bentonville teams in the past have accomplished that feat, according to coach Jody Grant.

Josh Ficklin, a three-year starter at tailback, has run for 785 yards and 16 touchdowns, while quarterback Carter Nye has 1,402 yards and 16 touchdowns on 95-of-135 passing. Bentonville’s defense, meanwhile, has allowed just under 255 yards per game in its last four outings.

“Offensively, the steady play of our quarterback and running back have been huge,” Grant said. “Our quarterback is distributing the ball to multiple receivers, which makes us tough to defend in our opinion.

“Defensively, I think we’ve got better. We’ve gotten way better at tackling. We’ve started to be able to do some different things with some guys and get them in position for success. Early on in the nonconference scheduled, we struggled in that area. I think our special teams play is getting better. The starting position for our opponents has been heavily in our favor.”

Bentonville’s stiffest tests in 7A-West play, however, loom on the horizon. The Tigers still have to play the three teams right behind them in the league standings — Fayetteville, Rogers and Bentonville West — but all of those games are at Tiger Stadium.

“The beautiful thing for us is we still control our destiny,” Grant said. “These last four weeks are crucial, and we have to be successful and play well. We need to continue to get better each week and not try to start figuring out where we are in the playoff yet because it’s still too early.

“We’re going to take it one week at a time and worry about our current opponent. Once that game is buried, we’ll worry about the next opponent. Any time you start looking ahead is when you get your tail beat, so we’ll avoid that at all costs.”

PRAIRIE GROVE Miller for the long run

Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier said he chose to have running back Ethan Miller sit out last week’s game against Clarksville, even though the senior was fully dressed to play.

Abshier didn’t disclose the reason for his decision but said Miller should be ready to play Friday as the Tigers (5-1, 3-0) continue 5A-West Conference with a game against fellow league newcomer Dardanelle. Meanwhile, Prairie Grove remained unbeaten in its new league play with a 30-6 victory.

“He wanted to play but he wasn’t ready to go,” Abshier said of Miller, who ran for 295 yards against Harrison. “I talked to a couple of people about playing in the 5A-West and they spoke of longevity and being able to withstand the injury bug. We’ve already lost one player for the season, and now I know what they are talking about.

“I don’t think we played as well as we could against Clarksville, but the more I watched the film the better I think we got.”

Dardanelle is no stranger to Prairie Grove. The two teams played each other in nonconference action in 2018 and 2019, with the Sand Lizards winning both games.

It also could serve as a trap game as Prairie Grove has to play Alma, Shiloh Christian and rival Farmington in the following weeks.

“Our players see the standings, but I told them that means nothing right now,” Abshier said. “We just need to get out there and do our best and let things work out. We just need to focus on us and do what we need to do and just take care of business.”

GENTRY Back-to-back 6-0 starts

Gentry had more to celebrate than homecoming last week when the Pioneers rolled to a 48-8 victory over Green Forest.

The win improved Gentry’s record to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in 4A-1 Conference action. It gave the Pioneers that kind of start in consecutive seasons.

“I don’t know the last time we did this in back-toback seasons, so we tried to celebrate it,” Gentry coach Justin Bigham said. “I know it was the first time we have done it in this century. It’s a big deal to us to end that kind of streak.”

Gentry joins Ozark and Elkins as the teams unbeaten in 4A-1 play, but that is about to change. Those three teams will play each other over the next three weeks, starting with Friday’s game as Gentry travels to Ozark.

Bigham said it didn’t take the Pioneers long to turn their attention to the Hillbillies, and it started before Monday’s practice session.

“Our kids are super-focused right now,” Bigham said. “As coaches, we usually meet on Sunday, and we had kids ready to go then. They were already asking for stuff so they can go watch game film. That really helps, for sure.

“We don’t ever want to be looking ahead or having the players think that we are looking ahead. Now that we are 6-0, it really feels good, but we’re about to meet some good teams. We just need to worry about how good a team we can be and try to be the best team we can be.”

FARMINGTON Cardinals back on track

Farmington may have started 5A-West Conference play on the wrong foot, but the Cardinals have made a big turnaround over the past two weeks.

After opening league play with a 24-17 loss at Harrison, Farmington (4-2, 2-1) has responded with victories over Alma and Dardanelle by a combined 101-22 margin and forced the running clock in both instances.

“Number one, I think the offense has become comfortable with Sam Wells at quarterback,” Cardinals coach J.R. Eldridge said. “Sam’s just a great competitor in the way he practices, the way he plays and the way he leads. When the offense became comfortable, we were able to produce some points.

“Defensively, we are able to continue with what we call ‘9-5-9,’ which is to get 9 players within 5 yards of the ball 90 percent of the time. Special teams have been to our advantage as we had a blocked punt and two big kickoff returns against Alma, then we had a punt return for a touchdown against Dardanelle. It’s been a big plus for us the last two games.”

Now the Cardinals turn their attention to a Clarksville team that is winless in league play, and it could be considered a trap game with Shiloh Christian looming on the horizon next week. Eldridge, however, wants to make sure there is no overlooking the Panthers.

“We try to create an environment where we prepare the same way every week,” Eldridge said. “We try to stay with the same routine as we prepare for the other team, no matter if it’s Clarksville or Shiloh Christian.

“Every week, we hope to play better than we did the previous week. So if the previous week is the best game we’ve played, we want to be even better this week. We want to be at our best each and every week.”