QB Nye returns, directs Tigers over Wolverines
7A-WEST BENTONVILLE 56, BENTONVILLE WEST 28
CENTERTON — Bentonville’s coaches weren’t sure what to expect from quarterback Carter Nye on Friday night at Bentonville West after missing the previous two games with injuries to both ankles.
Nye showed from the very start there was nothing to be worried about.
Nye threw a 46-yard completion to C.J. Brown on the game’s first offensive play and hit on 14 of his first 15 passes. The Bentonville offense had 263 yards and four touchdowns in the first quarter alone, and the Tigers rolled to a 56-28 victory over Bentonville West at Wolverine Stadium.
“For a guy who’s missed the last two games, who’s coming off an injury, worked hard to get where he could play tonight, truthfully there was a little concern about how he would play, how he would do and how he would handle it,” Bentonville Coach Jody Grant said. “I thought he handled it really well and operated really good, specifically in that first half.”
The Tigers (7-3, 6-1) earned the No. 2 seed from the 7A-West Conference and a first-round bye in the Class 7A state playoffs, while Bentonville West (7-3, 5-2) will be the third seed and host a
playoff game next week.
Nye completed 22 of 25 passes for 340 yards and 3 touchdowns, and the Tigers finished with 568 yards of offense.
“It does feel good to be back, get a good game in before the playoffs,” Nye said. “The plan was to get ahead and make them fold, and that’s exactly what happened.” Nye went 5 for 5 for 69 yards on the Tigers’ first drive and Jason Gilmore rushed 11 yards for a touchdown with 10:29 remaining in the first quarter to give Bentonville a 7-0 lead.
Brown, who caught 8 passes for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns, took a direct snap 35 yards for a touchdown after Nye hit back-to-back passes of 17 and 26 yards to Luke Coon on the second drive.
Bentonville linebacker Daxton Horton intercepted a pass on Bentonville West’s next possession. The Tigers cashed in for another score with Christian Battles scoring from 16 yards out to go up 21-0.
Nye then went 4 for 5 for 50 yards on the Tigers’ fourth drive, including a 23-yard scoring pass to Brown for a 28-0 lead.
Bentonville led 42-12 at halftime, and Bentonville West scored to open the second half on a 22-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion by Dalton Rice to make it 42-20.
But Nye answered for the Tigers on the next play, hitting Brown for a 69-yard score and a 49-20 lead.
“They came out and played well,” said Bentonville West Coach Bryan Pratt, who saw his team’s five-game winning streak end. “We did not play very well. It was like a totally different team than we had playing tonight in the first half compared to what we had the last four weeks, and that’s the disappointing part.”
Bentonville West fell to 0-8 against their rival.
“Every time we play them, we seem to not play very well, and that’s my fault as the head coach and I take full credit for it,” Pratt said. “We weren’t ready to play. The lucky thing about it, it’s not do or die. It’s playoff time now and if you’ve got a chance to play, and if you’re going to win it you’ve got to play everybody. We’ll be playing next week.”
Rice completed 25 of 38 passes for 321 yards, but he was intercepted three times. Jaxson Brust caught 13 passes for 203 yards for the Wolverines.
Coon had six receptions for 130 yards for Bentonville, while Gilmore led the Tigers’ rushing attack with nine carries for 97 yards. Eli Brooks and Que Brown had interceptions on defense for the Tigers.