Cardinals Fly Over Tigers

TURNOVERS PLAYED ROLE ON WET FIELD

FARMINGTON — Lightening strikes in the area caused a lengthy delay and forced officials to call the game in the third quarter as Farmington beat West Fork, 25-0, on Friday.

Farmington dominated play in wet, sloppy conditions that forced both teams to use the east sideline with standing water along the west sideline. The Cardinals picked up their second victory of the season and won their home opener with improved ball- handling and no turnovers after struggling to overcome those type of errors in the first week.

“I’m pleased with the way we handled the football,” said Mike Adams, Farmington coach.

West Fork’s only legitimate chance at scoring came to an end with the ball at the Farmington four on third-and-goal when the game was called with 6:39 remaining in the third period.

“We’d like to had been given a chance to score but it’s a horrible night with rain and lightening,” said West Fork coach, Rodney Self, “But I understand the safety of the kids is important.

Farmington was gearing up for a goal line stand after giving up a long kickoff return to West Fork’s Wyatt Montgomery, who caught the ball at the 13 and ran it back to the Farmington 18. That play was about the only thing the Cardinals did wrong all night.

“I’m real pleased with the way we played defense to start the game. We got a turnover on them,” Adams said. “Offensively, we had a nice, long drive.”

The Cardinals took the opening kickoff and mounted a 74-yard drive, scoring in 13 plays on Matt Brackett’s 20-yard reception on fourthand-15. The catch made up for an earlier drop, something Adams said the Cardinals must work on.

“We didn’t catch the ball as well as we should have,” Adams said. “Quarterback Keaton Austin threw the ball really well and our offensive line played much better than last week.”

“We just had to

execute,”

said

in the 4A-1.

“Before this game I talked to them about dominating,” said Tiger coach Hannah McDonald. “At times we are able to do that, but we still haven’t figured out how to keep that continuous momentum.”

One of Lincoln’s most effective offensive weapon was the serving arm of Gabbi Barnum, a transfer student from Texas. Barnum opened up game one with 3 consecutive aces, staking the Wolves to a 3-0 lead. A kill from Prairie Grove’s Erin Galloway, followed by backto- back aces from Marie Gregson, helped the Tigers take their first lead at 5-4.

The Wolves and Tigers were tied 10 times in the opening contest, with Tara Myers’ spike knotting up the score at 14-all. A trifecta of kills from Cayleigh Moyer helped the Tigers build an 18-14 advantage. Aces from Moyer and Megan Gerwig swelled Prairie Grove’s advantage to 23-16, their biggest lead of the game. A kill by Lincoln’s Sarah Dobson closed the gap to 24-19, but Prairie Grove won the next point, giving them the 25-19 opening contest win.

The Tigers carried their momentum into the second game, dispatching the Wolves 25-16. Witherspoon (2 kills, 1 block, 1 ace), Moyer (3 kills) and Gerwig (2 kills, 1 block, 1 ace) filled the statistics sheet for Prairie Grove, while Lincoln countered with a pair of kills each from Myers and Dobson.

“I’ve been telling the girls that attitude is a complete ball game changer in volleyball,” said Wolves coach Adrian Risley. “One of the big things we were able to do in two of the three games that we played was to not let the previous point dictate how our next point is going to go. That didn’t happen in the second game.”

Barnum tallied 4 consecutive aces in the third game, giving the Wolves an early 50 lead. Barnum led all servers in the ace category with 7 for the match.

“Lincoln has some very strong servers and that played with our mind at times,” McDonald said.

Barnum’s serving was countered by the offensive juggernaut of Witherspoon and Moyer who powered Prairie Grove back into the contest. Back-to-back kills by Witherspoon followed by a kill from Moyer, helped the Tigers break an 18-18 tie, putting them ahead 21-18. A pair of kills from Myers helped Lincoln close the gap to 23-22 and a spectacular dig by Cassidy Dryer that trickled over the net for a point, helped the Wolves stay close at 24-23. However, Gregson closed out the match with a spike, giving the Tigers the 25-23 win and completing the 3 game sweep.

“Our defense tonight was a lot better,” Risley said. “That’s what we’ve been focusing on and that’s where I seen the most improvement tonight.”

ENTERPRISE-LEADER Farmington runningback Spencer Boudrey cuts inside of a West Fork defender as tackle Zach Nickell blocks. Boudrey rushed 11 times for 61 yards and a touchdown with no fumbles in bad weather.

COURTESY PHOTO Prairie Grove and Lincoln battle it out over the net. Prairie Grove defeated Lincoln 3-0 in a hard-fought match on Sept. 3 at the Lady Tigers’ home court.