Wolves overcome errors, down Benton
PEARCY – In a night that Lake Hamilton turned the ball over four times, a Benton turnover late in the fourth quarter made the difference for the Wolves.
With Lake Hamilton nursing a two-point lead, sophomore Braden Braughton returned a fumble 54 yards for a touchdown with 3:29 left in the game, punctuating a 29-20 victory at Wolf Stadium.
“I think our kid grabbed his arm and pulled it out,” Lake Hamilton head coach Tommy Gilleran said. “(Braden) is one of our fastest kids and he took it to the house.
“It took the air out of them and we knew the game was sealed.” Lake Hamilton, 5-4 overall and 3-3 in 6A-West, has won three in a row. Benton, losing three straight, has the same records.
“I think every week we continue to get better and better,” Gilleran said. “I think our kids are starting to believe in what we are doing.”
Lake Hamilton led 22-13 after Utah Aitken’s 18-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Kanaan Williams on fourth down, 3:01 left in the third quarter.
“On any play, our kids can make a play and that’s what we ask out of them every week,” Gilleran said. “We made more plays than they did tonight.”
Aitken completed four of 15 passes for 53 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
“Our quarterback made throws when he needed to make throws,” Gilleran said. “But he made some plays that weren’t so good, but that happens.
“He made the plays when we needed and that carried us to the win.”
Aitken’s 19-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Nick Hammock put Lake Hamilton up 7-0 with 3:34 left in the first quarter.
Benton made it 7-7 on the first play of the second quarter when junior Michael Allison returned an interception 31 yards untouched for an easy score.
Lake Hamilton regained the lead, 15-7, on an 11-play drive that senior Jacob Nichols capped with a two-yard run at 8:36 of the first half, adding a two-point conversion.
“They really took away our strong-side play, so we did a lot of weak side, which was Nichols,” Gilleran said. “Jack Johnson had a big night running the ball as well.”
Nichols finished with 144 yards on 25 carries. Johnson had six carries for 58 yards. Sophomore Malik Brewer was limited to seven carries after suffering an ankle injury in a Week 7 game against Siloam Springs.
“Malik has been banged up a little bit but he’s finally getting a little better,” Gilleran said.
Benton was down to fourth-string quarterback in Gavin Wells, a sophomore. He ran for 46 yards on 13 carries and completed five of 18 passes for 46 yards. Junior running back Zak Wallace carried 15 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
“We made a couple of moves defensively this week,” Gilleran said. “We feel like we played better in our secondary this week, and I also think we had more intensity on both sides of the ball.
“I think our offense executed pretty good and our defense did, too.”
Lake Hamilton host 9-0 Greenwood, Class 6A’s top-ranked team, Friday night.
“We will be ready,” Gilleran said. “I think we are playing better, so I think we will be ready for them.”