Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Finger Injury Doesn’t Faze Kicker
SET SCHOOL RECORD FOR MOST P.A.T.S IN GAME
PRAIRIE GROVE — Ben Beason was walking off the football field during his senior season of football Nov. 3, 2017, when his train of thought was interrupted.
An excited Tiger fan informed Beason, a recent 2018 Prairie Grove graduate, that he had just set a new Prairie Grove school record for the most successful extra-point kicks in a single game by going 8-for-8 in the Tigers’ 56-25 win over Lincoln.
Beason played soccer during his athletic career at Prairie Grove, but found kicking a football was different.
“It definitely helped with accuracy a ton,” Beason said. “Originally I had problems with solid contact, but after my finger injury I had a chance to devote most of my practice time to kicking.”
Beason was injured when Prairie Grove defeated Shiloh Christian 35-21 Oct. 9. He successfully kicked 3-of-4 extra-point attempts, a crucial component when going up against the Saints’ high-powered offense. In the third quarter, Shiloh Christian took the lead away from the Tigers, 21-20, on Jaret Russ’ 5-yard run when Beason’s counterpart, Caden Carter, kicked a P.A.T. for the Saints with 4:07 to go in the third.
Prairie Grove elected to go for a 2-point conversion once they regained the lead in the fourth quarter with Beason’s classmate Stone Bryant scoring on a 55-yard touchdown pass from John David Elder. Anthony Johnson ran in the 2-point conversion and the Tigers led, 28-21, with 8:05 remaining in the contest.
Prairie Grove sealed the game on defensive tackle DeMarkus Cooper’s 47-yard interception return. Tiger coach Danny Abshier had such confidence in Beason that he sent him out to kick the final extra-point, stretching the lead to a 14-point margin. However 1:15 remained, enough time for the Saints to mount one last desperation drive.
Shiloh quarterback Landon Brown brought the Saints into Prairie Grove territory with Beason among the Tiger defenders determined to prevent a touchdown. Chasing Brown, Beason injured his finger while forcing the Saint quarterback off the playing field.
“It happened at the very end of the Shiloh game,” Beason recalls. “I was throwing the quarterback out-of-bounds.”
The read and react style of football proved a sharp contrast to the laid-back approach to golf, which Beason played in the fall as a junior.
“There’s a lot more time to think in golf,” Beason said. “I can set up and take my time. In football, at the snap of the ball you’ve got to be ready.”
That wasn’t the extent of his extra-curricular activities.
Last summer, Beason was among several local athletes, who educated themselves on civic involvement as delegates for Boys State at the University of Central Arkansas Conway campus, May 28 - June 2, 2017.
Upon arrival each participant was assigned a mock political party, city, and county. According to the Boys State website, throughout the week delegates administrate the mock government as if they were conducting official business of the real government. Every phase of the program includes practical instruction on the duties and responsibilities both of a citizen and of public officials. Citizens of “Boys State” are instructed in the duties of the various public offices. After they learn the function of each office, along with the powers and limitations, they function in that role throughout the remainder of the week.
Prairie Grove delegates included: Beason; Elder, football and basketball; Rylan Shrum, football; Travis Southern and Devin Tabor. Beason was elected to Justice of the Peace 6 for Boys State Smith County, Boys State City of Rosebud. Beason was also elected as State Senator, representing Smith County from the Federalist Party.
After all that, Beason decided to come back out for football in the fall of his senior year. His reason was simple — “Honestly, I just missed hitting people,” Beason said. “A contact sport was what I needed for a long time. It was real satisfying to me. I got to play with my friends again.”