Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Tigers top Bulldogs
Bentonville defeats Fayetteville in close game.
FAYETTEVILLE — The more things change, the more things stay the same.
Bentonville won its 11th consecutive regular season meeting against Fayetteville on Friday, holding the Bulldogs to one score in the second half to help pull out a 24-21 victory at Harmon Stadium.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in the state and considered a more veteran team in this year’s matchup in many areas, were plagued by costly turnovers and untimely penalties. Bentonville, despite a school split with Bentonville West which many figured would leave the Tigers a step behind Fayetteville this season, stuck to what has worked in every regular season showdown with the rival Purple’Dogs since 2006.
Bentonville (3-1, 1-0) got 100 rushing yards and one touchdowns on 20 carries from senior Jacob Clark. Quarterback Canaan Ross hit Kam’Ron Mays-Hunt with a goahead 65-yard sprint touchdown down the sidelines on the final play of the first quarter and would finish 12-of-24 passing for 139 yards.
And the Tigers defense gave Fayetteville fits, sacking quarterback Taylor Powell five times while constantly coming up with strong coverage against the Purple’Dogs’ high-power passing game.
“That’s a very talented offense we played,” Bentonville coach Jody Grant said. “We just kind of challenge our defense to go out there and get after them and they did that.
“Our goal was to be a ball control offense as much as we could and keep Fayetteville off the field. Jacob Clark did a heck of a job, he’s a heck of a running back and our quarterback operated a little bit. So, our guys executed the plan as we asked.”
Fayetteville (3-1, 0-1) started strong, taking a 7-0 lead with a 16-play, 80-yard drive on the first series of the game capped by a Powell to Banister 21-yard touchdown pass on 4th and nine with six minutes, 44 seconds left in the first quarter. But scoring would be a chore the rest of the way for the Purple’Dogs.
After Bentonville took a 21-14 lead into halftime, the game turned into a defensive slugfest in the final two quarters. Fayetteville had
opportunities, even getting a 13-yard potential game-tying run by Terrance Rock called back by a holding penalty early in the fourth quarter.
Those mistakes were too much to overcome.
“(Bentonville) played a lot smarter and lot more error free,” Fayetteville coach Bill Blankenship said. “For whatever reason, we did not play the way we have to play to win these type of games.
“They did what we practiced against and they did a good job of making us earn it. But mainly it was self-inflicted wounds. I thought we played better in the second half, but we still did not make the plays we had to.”
Rock finished with 133 yards on 21 carries and had four catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns for Fayetteville. His big night wasn’t enough, though, to give the Bulldogs their first regular season victory over Bentonville since 2005.
“This is our concern right now,” Grant said. “Bentonville-Fayetteville is as big a matchup as there is and that’s our intentions for it to be that way.
“We know Fayetteville is always going to be a contender and we plan on being one as well, so Bentonville-Fayetteville will always be a big matchup and it was another big one tonight.”
Bentonville hosts Van Buren next week and Fayetteville remains at home to play host to Bentonville West.