Prairie Grove rolls over Huntsville after halftime

PRAIRIE GROVE 48, HUNTSVILLE 21

HUNTSVILLE — Leading by six points at halftime, the Prairie Grove Tigers were anxious to break the game open.

The Tigers (3-1, 1-0 4A-1) had the ball to begin the second half, and after lobbying for the play in the locker room, Prairie Grove ran a trick play, a pitch from quarterback Sam Dodd to tight end Dylan Soehner, followed by Soehner hurling the ball down the field to receiver Isaac Disney. It worked beautifully with Disney catching the ball in stride while streaking down the right sideline for the 73-yard touchdown.

The score gave Prairie Grove all the momentum it needed to roll to a 48-21 win in the 4A-1 Conference opener for both teams.

“We’d worked on it this week, and when we were in the locker room at half, they said they wanted to try it,” said Tigers coach Danny Abshier. “We went out there and it worked. Those plays don’t always work, but it did tonight.”

Prairie Grove followed that up by intercepting Huntsville (2-2, 0-1) on the next series when Zeke Laird came down with a pass that was batted in the air deep in Eagles territory. The Tigers scored in just three plays on a 20-yard run from Blake Faulk, who led the team with 101 rushing yards on 12 carries.

Just six plays into the third quarter, what had been a one-possession game was suddenly a 20-point margin.

The Eagles weren’t done yet, however. Huntsville ripped off an 11-play touchdown drive on the ensuing series to cut the deficit to 3421, but that was as close as it would come.

The Tigers would go on to score two more touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 69-yard punt return from Disney that featured broken tackles and a strong stiff-arm before he broke loose down the left sideline. That play set the final score.

Huntsville gave the Tiges all they could handle in the first half, keeping up with the Tigers score- for- score until close to halftime. Quarterback Levi Elsey scored on a fourth-and-10 from the 19-yard line to tie the game in the second quarter.

Prairie Grove answered with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Dodd to Gavin Heltemes three plays later, but on Huntsville’s first play on their next drive, running back Jaron Evans, who ran for a gamehigh 166 yards on 24 carries, broke free up the middle for a 64-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14.

“It was tough,” said Abshier. “They showed a lot of grit, a lot of intestinal fortitude to come out here and play like that.”

Huntsville played with heavy hearts following the death this week of Shelby Dotson, a team manager who was killed in a car accident. The team observed moments of silence for her at halftime and after the game.

“It was an honor to be on the field with Huntsville coach (Tom) Tice and this community,” said Abshier. “Hopefully, everybody being out here together can help with the healing process.”