Tigers can take step to 7A-West title

So what happens when something’s been taken from you and you want it back?

In football, the best way is to re-take from the team what you believe is rightfully yours. That’s the goal of the Bentonville Tigers when they host defending 7A-West Conference champion Fayetteville tonight at Tiger Stadium.

Fayetteville snapped a lengthy regular-season losing streak to Bentonville last year and ended the Tigers’ 35game conference win streak with a 42-34 victory at Harmon Field. Fayetteville rode the momentum of that victory all the way to the state championship game in Little Rock, where the Bulldogs gave Bryant all it wanted before falling 42-38 to the fourtime defending state champions in Class 7A.

Bentonville (5-1, 3-0) is undefeated in 7A-West Conference play while Fayetteville (4-2, 2-1), Rogers (4-2, 2-1) and Bentonville West (4-2, 2-1) each have one loss. Fayetteville warmed up for tonight’s showdown with a 60-20 win over Fort Smith Southside while Bentonville took care of business with a 42-7 rout over Rogers Heritage.

There’ll be plenty of stars on each side of the ball tonight, especially on offense for Fayetteville, where junior Drake Lindsey has already thrown for over 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns this season. Kaylon Morris and Jaison DeLamar are receivers who routinely get behind defenders for long pass plays. Bentonville will counter with Josh Ficklin, an all-state running back who’s found his way into the end zone four different ways this season ( rushing, receiving, kickoff return and fumble recovery). Carter Nye is a capable quarterback who can find other options if the Bulldogs focus too much on stopping Ficklin.

Bentonville vs. Fayetteville has been one of the top draws for years in Arkansas and Tiger Stadium should be packed again tonight. A Fayetteville win will throw the league race into disarray. But Bentonville is determined to prevent that from happening, especially when the Bulldogs have something the Tigers believe belongs to them.

RICK’S PICK Bentonville

( Here are some other games involving teams from our coverage area. The picks are capitalized).

CLASS 7A

BENTONVILLE WEST at Springdale HarBer

Springdale at ROGERS

Rogers Heritage at FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE

Fort Smith Northside at CONWAY

CLASS 6A

Lake Hamilton at GREENWOOD

LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN at Siloam Springs

PULASKI ACADEMY at Van Buren

RUSSELLVILLE at Greenbrier

CLASS 5A

Alma at HARRISON

Clarksville at FARMINGTON

Dardanelle at PRAIRIE GROVE

SHILOH CHRISTIAN at Pea Ridge

CLASS 4A

ELKINS at Green Forest

Gentry at OZARK

GRAVETTE at Berryville

Huntsville at LINCOLN

CLASS 3A

Greenland at LAVACA

Hackett at CHARLESTON Mansfield at BOONEVILLE

West Fork at CEDARVILLE

Paris at TWO RIVERS

Waldron at ARKADELPHIA

CLASS 2A

CONWAY CHRISTIAN at Johnson County Westside

HECTOR at Decatur

Magazine at BIGELOW

PICKS SUMMARY

LAST WEEK 24-2 (92%)

OVERALL 121-33 (78%)