Bentonville (8-4) back in final
BENTONVILLE 42, NORTH LITTLE ROCK 10
Bentonville has turned an 0-4 start to the season into another appearance in the Class 7A state championship game.
Junior quarterback Kasey Ford completed 9 of 15 passes for 178 yards and 2 first-half touchdowns to lead Bentonville in a 42-10 rout of North Little Rock on Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The Tigers (8-4) lost their first four games, including the first three to out-of-state teams Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst, Broken Arrow, Okla., and Bergen (N.J.) Catholic. But Coach Barry Lunney’s team rebounded to win a share of the 7A-West Conference title and is back in the 7A championship game for the fifth consecutive year and can win its second championship in a row and fifth overall next Saturday against Fayetteville.
“It’s a program. That’s the thing I’m most proud of,” Lunney said. “We’ve got a lot of kids with a lot of heart. Our kids have a lot of resolve. I’m blessed to be their coach.”
Running back Dylan Smith rushed for 154 yards and 1 touchdown on 28 carries. Hekili Keliiliki had 39 yards and 1 touchdown on 11 carries while Khalil Gunn finished with 76 yards and a score on 8 carries.
Bentonville, which led 21-3 at halftime, held North Little Rock (10-2) to a season-low 10 points, handing the Charging Wildcats their third consecutive 7A semifinal loss.
Charging Wildcats senior dual-threat K.J. Hill, who has orally commited to Arkansas, was held to 99 receiving yards and no touchdowns.
“They’re a really good football team,” North Little Rock Coach Brad Bolding said. “We didn’t execute, for whatever reason. If I knew the answer to that, I’d be a millionaire. But we didn’t execute. Hats off to Bentonville. They’re very, very good. They’ll have a chance to win a state championship.”
Keliiliki, who also starts at linebacker for Bentonville, credited the Tigers’ defensive performance against Hill and the Charging Wildcats.
“They’re an explosive offense,” Keliiliki said. “We didn’t want to give up the big plays. Watching film, they made a lot of big plays with missed tackles. We worked on tackling in the open field. It paid off.”
The Tigers drove 84 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead with 5:58 left in the first quarter as Ford found Cody Scroggins for a 41-yard touchdown pass.
A 12-yard punt by North Little Rock’s Sandy Burks helped set up the Tigers’ next scoring drive. Tight end Austin Bugos made a one-handed grab of a Ford pass, and his 61-yard touchdown reception extended the Tigers’ lead to 14-0 with 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
Burks’ 26-yard field goal pulled the Charging Wildcats within 14-3, but Bentonville extended its lead to 21-3 with 6:27 left in the half. Gunn’s 12yard run and Scroggins’ 26yard reception set up Ford’s 1-yard scoring run.
North Little Rock had an opportunity to cut the Tigers’ lead in the final two minutes, but Heath Land was intercepted by Scroggins at the Bentonville 40.
Harrison Rooney’s interception of Land in the third quarter set up Keliiliki’s 2-yard run that made it 28-3 with 2:58 left. Smith had a 17-yard scoring run and Gunn added a 13yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Tigers.
D.J. Brown rushed 21 times for 140 yards and caught an 8-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, the Charging Wildcats’ only offensive touchdown.
Land finished 16-of-28 passing for 171 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.