Benton shuts down El Dorado’s offense
BENTON 44, EL DORADO 6
BENTON — El Dorado Coach Scott Reed noticed while watching film this past week that Benton was still improving.
The Panthers showed Reed just how much they’ve improved Friday night in the semifinals of the Class 6A playoffs.
Benton thumped defending state champion El Dorado 44-6 to advance to the state championship game for the first time since 1977. The Panthers will face Pine Bluff next Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
“They were obviously ready to play, got after us, and we just never had an answer,’’ Reed said. “We just never got going. It is to their credit. It looked to me like for some reason we never got in the game.
“They did a good job handling us. It was a very frustrating night. They executed really well. There wasn’t any phase that we were very good at, and it is hard to explain.”
Benton’s offense has received plenty of attention this season, but the defense controlled Friday’s semifinal matchup.
The Panthers (11-0-1) forced 4 turnovers and blocked 1 extra-point attempt while holding El Dorado (85) to 4 first downs, 43 yards rushing and 73 yards passing. El Dorado’s lone touchdown came on a 1-yard run after a bad snap was recovered on the Panthers 1.
“Our defense was dominant,’’ Benton Coach Scott Neathery said. “They said all week they felt like they had something to prove because they did not feel they played well the first time against El Dorado. They are relentless. I can’t say enough about our defense. All year long they have been relentless.
“They played like a pack of wild dogs out there. They liked it. They loved the physicality of it.”
Neathery said the offense was “sloppy” all night, but the Panthers still finished with 409 yards, with 273 coming through the air.
Benton took a 7-0 lead on a 32-yard pass from Cason Maertens to Drew Harris with 5:19 left in the first quarter. Harris, who finished with 15 yards rushing and caught 13 passes for 193 yards, also scored on a 9-yard run with 3:28 left in the half.
El Dorado answered when the Panthers turned over the ball after Maertens couldn’t handle a high snap and the Wildcats recovered it at the Panthers 1. Juwan Love scored from the 1 on the next play, but the extra-point attempt was blocked by Stone Paul.
Benton closed out the half with a 12-yard run by Julius Lewis that gave the Panthers a 20-7 lead with 8:46 left.
The Panthers put it away early in the second half when they forced six incomplete passes on the first 12 defensive plays, came up with an interception, recovered a fumble and pushed the Wildcats back for 16 yards in losses on four running plays.
Brandon Black’s interception set up Harris for a 4-yard touchdown run on a drive given new life after El Dorado roughed the kicker on a made field goal.
Harris had a 56-yard punt downed inside the 1, and two plays later Paul forced and recovered a fumble at the 15 that led to Hines’ 24yard field goal and a 30-6 lead with 6:48 left in the quarter.
A bad snap resulted in a minus-7-yard punt for El Dorado, which led to a 17-yard touchdown pass from Maertens to Casey Green for a 37-6 lead with 4:53 left in the quarter. Maertens and Harris connected again on a 38-yard scoring pass with 9:12 left for a 44-6 lead.
Maertens finished with three touchdowns and 273 yards passing.