Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Rivalry Recap: Tigers Batter Cards, 35-14
PRAIRIE GROVE — A two-game losing streak to rival Farmington was broken in a big way as Prairie Grove defeated the Cardinals, 35-14, in front of a capacity crowd Friday.
Farmington appeared poised to take control early when Jake Oskey blocked a Tiger punt and the Cardinals recovered at the Prairie Grove 12. A big swing in field position occurred early in the game. The Cardinals set up shop with first-and-10 from the Tiger 12, but Anthony Johnson’s inspired play led the Tigers to a first-half shutout. Johnson successfully defended a pass, forcing an incompletion on first down. Caleb Williams picked up 4 yards for the Cardinals on second down, but the Tigers were hitting hard. A quick slant intended for Trenton McChristian fell incomplete when the Cardinal senior was decked while trying to grab the football. On fourthdown Farmington set up a wide receiver screen to Xavier Staten, but he was brought down at the point of the reception and Farmington turned the ball over on downs.
An unsportsmanlike conduct pushed the Tigers back to their own 5-yard line. Reed Orr gained two tough yards inside, then Duston Burton got loose around right end and raced to the Cardinal 49. A run for no-gain was followed by a pass from Tiger quarterback Zeke Laird rolling to his left. Clay Fidler caught the ball in stride and outran the Farmington defense down the left sideline to finish a 48- yard touchdown play. Fidler then kicked the extrapoint and Prairie Grove led 7- 0 with 6: 03 to go in the first period.
Farmington dodged a bullet when the ensuing kickoff was fumbled at the end of the return, but managed to recover the football. The first quarter ended with Prairie Grove holding a 7-0 edge.
Farmington coach Mike Adams said the Cardinals’ failure to score off the turnover was the first of two turning points in the game.
“We block a punt and get a first down inside their 15 and we didn’t take advantage of it,” Adams said. “If we’d scored there, it changes the game. We let them off the ropes a bit and they came back and hit a big play on us. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes and get better.”
In the second quarter, Prairie Grove squandered a chance to put more points on the board with penalties taking them away from the goal line. Twice the Tigers turned the ball over on downs in Farmington territory. Both drives were stunted by false start penalties.
Late in the half, Farmington turned the ball over on downs. Prairie Grove took possession at their own 43 with 14 seconds showing. Zeke Laird found Fidler on a deep route, who nearly scored before a saving tackle by the Cardinal defensive backs brought him down at the one. Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier immediately called time-out, stopping the clock with 5 seconds remaining. A quick pass intended for DeMarkus Cooper in the right corner fell incomplete on firstdown but two seconds were left. Orr plunged into the end zone on the final play of the first-half to give the Tigers a two- touchdown lead of 14-0 when the extrapoint was blocked by Farmington.
Adams identified the sequence as the second turning- point; wh i le Abshier had high praise for his defense in stopping the Cardinals to get the ball back for one last chance to score.
“Our defense played fantastic,” Abshier said. “Farmington had a total of 41 yards in the first half.”
The Cardinals picked up the pace offensively in the third quarter, cutting the Tiger lead to 14- 6 on Trey Waggle’s quarterback sneak. Prairie Grove offset 75 rushing yards by Farmington in the period with a drive capped by Zeke Laird’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Disney, and 2-point conversion pass to Fidler for a 21-6 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Prairie Grove’s defense rose to the occasion by staunching Farmington’s running game. The Cardinals had -2 yards rushing in the final period. Zeke Laird and Disney connected for a 67- yard touchdown. Justis McNatt’s kick extended the Tigers to a 28-6 lead at the 9:56 mark. Zeke Laird threw to Fidler for the final Tiger touchdown. With Fidler’s P.A.T. the Tigers were in front 35-6.
Sophomore tailback Reid Turner scored a 2- yard touchdown and Blake Putnam ran in a 2- point conversion for Farmington, but Prairie Grove ran out the clock.
“It gets easier and easier with Zeke back there,” Abshier said. “He doesn’t lose his head ever. He stays calm. He got rocked a couple of times, but he just gets back up and goes back to the huddle.”
A slough of penalties against the Prairie Grove offense reduced the effectiveness of their run- oriented Wing-T in the first half, but the Tigers did find opportunities which they capitalized upon.