Fourth-down stops stop Northside cold

NO. 2 BENTONVILLE 21, FS NORTHSIDE 10

FORT SMITH — If Bentonville’s winning streak was going to continue, the defense had to deliver Friday night.

The Tigers did just that, stopping Fort Smith Northside on two fourth-down plays in the final 13 minutes before David Nichols added a late touchdown run to give Bentonville a 21-10 victory in a 7A-West Conference game at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.

“Defensively, our guys played real well,” Bentonville Coach Jody Grant said. “We had some big-time stops on fourth down, and we challenged them a lot out there with some of the things we were doing. Northside was operating a little bit offensively, and I was pleased with the way we played.”

Bentonville (5-0, 2-0) took a 14-10 lead into the fourth quarter but appeared to be in trouble when Matt Crenshaw fumbled after a reception on the following play. Trey Norwood recovered the loose ball, giving Northside (1-4, 0-2) a chance to take the lead with the ball on the Tigers 29.

Three plays later, Northside faced fourth and 1 again at the Bentonville 20 and decided to keep it on the ground. Max Frazier went to his left on a quarterback keeper, but the Tigers’ defense stopped him for no gain with 10:59 left.

“Fourth down and less than one, you’ve got to make it,” Northside Coach Mike Falleur said. “That’s the difference in the ball game.

“We just shot ourselves in the foot. We played great, but it wasn’t enough.”

Bentonville’s defense made up for the Tigers’ worst offensive outing of the season as Bentonville was outgained by a 358-222 margin. Logan Darby’s interception on the opening drive set up Jacob Clark’s 3-yard touchdown run less than 2 minutes into the game, and the defense made key stops in the first half — one on a fourth-down pass play and another on a first-and-goal play from the Bentonville 2 to end the first half.

That allowed the Tigers to take a 14-3 lead into halftime, but Northside made things interesting when Kiondre Thomas ran 87 yards for a touchdown to make it a one-possession game with 4:48 left in the third quarter. The Grizzlies drove to the Tigers’ 28 on their next possession before Bentonville deflected a fourth-down pass to end the drive.