Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Tiger Special Teams Rule Playoff Win
PRAIRIE GROVE ADVANCES, HOSTS STUTTGART FRIDAY
PRAIRIE GROVE — Special teams execution or the lack thereof at times by Pottsville played a large role in Prairie Grove’s 56-21 playoff victory over the Apaches Friday.
Twenty one of the Tigers’ first half points were directly attributed to recovered short kickoffs.
“One of those wasn’t an onside kick, it just happened,” said Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier. “They started it, then we kicked one and got it. We got a couple of breaks there. It was big cause with their freshman running back they were driving the ball, you can’t shake them.”
Senior Joe Reynolds, a 6-0 200-pound guard/defensive tackle, twice recovered onside kick attempts by the Apaches, including one to start the game that led to a 3-play, 59-yard scoring drive punctuated by the first of John David Elder’s three touchdown passes. Elder connected with Colin Bryant for a 39-yard touchdown and Ben Beason’s kick gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead 59 seconds into the contest.
Senior cornerback Tyler Davidson caught a perfectly-executed onside kick on the bounce to give the Tigers a second-straight possession which started at the Apache 45. Six plays later, Elder threw to a wideopen Dustin Burton for a 30-yard touchdown and the Tigers opened up a 14-0 lead with Beason’s P.A.T. with 9:37 left in the first quarter.
Pottsville then drove 62 yards in 15 plays. The Apaches converted twice on fourth down and capped the drive with Spencer Bradley’s 2-yard run. Stephen Judkins kicked the point-after and the Apaches trimmed the Tiger lead to 14-7 at the 2:34 mark of the first quarter.
Bradley’s sack on the last play of the opening period forced Prairie Grove to punt on the first play of the second quarter. The Apaches moved near midfield, but were backed up by a holding penalty. Tiger senior defensive tackle Landon Waldrop (5-10, 296) had a monster game and shut down a running play to put Pottsville in second-and-14. Pottsville’s Grayson Stevens, a left-handed quarterback, rolled out that direction but was intercepted by Burton on a short pass.
On the next play, Prairie Grove halfback Anthony Johnson began his highlight reel by ripping off a 50-yard touchdown run. The kick failed leaving the Tigers with a 20-7 lead. Pottsville mounted a 17-play, 55-yard march sustained by three fourth-down conversions on runs by 5-10, 200-pound freshman running back Shawn Mcbride moved up to varsity for the playoffs. Inside the red zone, Prairie Grove’s defense stiffened. Junior 6-0, 230-pound defensive end Ethan Guenther halted a pair of Mcbride runs and junior linebacker Trevor King nailed Kade England a yard short as the Apaches got into fourth down one too many times.
Twenty four seconds and 91 yards after taking over on downs, Prairie Grove reached the far end zone again. Elder completed a 42-yard pass to Colin Bryant, then Johnson started off left tackle, then cut back and rambled 49 yards for a touchdown. Again the P.A.T. kick failed, but Prairie Grove was ahead, 26-7.
DeMarkus Cooper kicked off for the Tigers sending a high, spinning kick over the Apaches’ front line and in front of their upbacks. Pottsville failed to field the ball and Prairie Grove junior Kaine Caswell pounced on the pigskin setting up the Tiger offense at the Apache 30 with 1:19 remaining in the half. Elder threw to Cooper running an underneath route and he turned on the speed racing to the house. Johnson ran in the 2-point conversion putting Prairie Grove in command with a 34-7 lead.
Johnson gained 219 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns on 10 carries while Elder completed 4 of 7 passes with touchdowns to three different receivers.
“Johnson had some big runs and J.D. is pretty good if his head is tuned in,” Abshier said. “We want to try and be multiple, 50-50, but it’s me who slows us down, I think. I like running the ball so much.”
The teams traded touchdowns with each scoring on their first possession of the third quarter. Pottsville scored on Emiliano Torres’ 18-yard pass from Stevens only to have Prairie Gove answer with Johnson’s 47-yard run to the house, which combined with Beason’s point-after kick, gave the teams opposite scores with Prairie Grove leading, 41-14.
Pottsville came away empty on their next possession with a first down at the Tiger 11 negated by a deadball late hit. Johnson concluded Prairie Grove’s 8-play, 69-yard drive with a 19-yard scoring run. Garrett Heltemes ran for two giving Prairie Grove a 35-point lead of 49-14 and implementing the sportsmanship running clock for the final 9:32.
With Tiger reserves on defense, England scored on a 7-yard run for Pottsville. The Apaches recovered a Tiger fumble, but Cody Kruse, a 5-5, 108-pound sophomore cornerback, got the ball back for Prairie Grove with an interception. Freshman Cade Grant broke a 51-yard touchdown run for the Tigers. Beason’s kick capped the scoring.