It’s all about the finish
Bentonville goes from 0-4 to state champs
Bentonville doesn’t panic. It didn’t after opening the season 0-4, and it didn’t down the stretch Saturday afternoon in the Class 7A state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Senior running back Dylan Smith scored from 6 yards out with 26 seconds left as Bentonville defeated 7A-West Conference rival Fayetteville 24-21 for its second consecutive state championship.
The Tigers (9-4) opened the season with losses to Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst, Broken Arrow, Okla., and Bergen (N.J.) Catholic, but they found a way to win their fifth state title since 2001.
“We could have quit,” said Bentonville Coach Barry Lunney, who has led the Tigers to four of their five state titles (2008, 2010, 2013, 2014) and won his eighth overall Saturday. “This is a very special bunch of kids. This will be one I won’t forget for a long time, I promise you that.”
Smith rushed for 145 yards on 26 carries, and his touchdown capped an 11-play, 68yard drive that spanned 2:41.
Fayetteville (11-3) led 21-17 with 3:05 to play when Bentonville began its final drive at its 32.
Bentonville quarterback Kasey Ford’s 9-yard run gave the Tigers first and goal at the Fayetteville 6, and Smith took care of the rest as he ran right and dove into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Bentonville’s Cody Scroggins intercepted sophomore quarterback Taylor Powell on the first play of Fayetteville’s ensuing possession to seal the Tigers’ second victory over the Bulldogs in less than a month.
“Coach just told me to play center field,” Scroggins said. “I just read the quarterback. He just threw it up. My eyes got big, and I jumped as high as I could to get it.”
Scroggins, who caught 6 passes for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns, was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Lunney said Scroggins hadn’t practiced this week because of a rib injury suffered against Bryant in a quarterfinal game Nov. 21.
Bentonville defeated Fayetteville 45-2 on Nov. 7 in the regular-season finale at Tiger Stadium to clinch a share of the 7A-West title. The Bulldogs, who beat No. 1 seeds Conway (7A/6A-Central) and Fort Smith Southside (7A-West) on their way to the title game, gave the Tigers a better game Saturday, but it still wasn’t enough to dethrone the defending champions.
“That was a championship drive,” Fayetteville Coach Daryl Patton said. “Give Bentonville all the credit on the last drive. They made all the plays.”
The Bulldogs outgained the Tigers 391-225 but trailed 10-7 at halftime and 17-7 to start the fourth quarter before coming back to take a 21-17 lead with 3:05 left.
Junior running back Luke Rapert, who rushed for 88 yards on 17 carries, scored on a 6-yard run to pull the Bulldogs within 17-14 with 10:01 remaining.
After a Bentonville punt, Powell led Fayetteville on a nine-play, 87-yard drive that took 3:03. He found junior wide receiver Garland Allison for a 32-yard touchdown pass that gave Fayetteville its first lead, 21-17, with 3:05 left.
Powell completed 22 of 28 passes for 305 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Senior tight end C.J. O’Grady, who is orally committed to the University of Arkansas, caught five passes for 91 yards. Allison had six catches for 90 yards.
Ford completed 15 of 23 passes for 143 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in winning his second state championship in two seasons as Bentonville’s starting quarterback.
The junior said the Tigers’ offense hadn’t executed as well as it did Saturday.
“It’s unreal to believe we started 0-4,” Ford said. “The determination, the will, the heart of these guys to win and to stay through it was unreal.”