Farmington Hands Timberwolves 24-6 Loss

FARMINGTON — The Farmington junior high football beat Bentonville’s 7A Fulbright Junior High Timberwolves handily by a score of 24-6 on Sept. 25.

Farmington set the tone early with a stop defensively on Fulbright’s opening possession at the Timberwolves’ 40. A high snap sailed over the punter’s head and Jacob Gray stopped his desperate attempt to run with the ball 24 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Farmington took over at the 16 but Caleb Williams was stuffed on first down with Bentonville’s nose guard shedding a block and making the tackle. Undaunted the junior Cardinals continued to run the ball with Williams plunging in for a 5-yard touchdown on fourth and 1. He then added a 2-point conversion by lunging backwards into the end zone after being turned around at the goal line.

Owning an 8-0 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter, Farmington kicked off and was unable to increase the lead twice turning the ball over on downs. The second change of possession turned into a teaching-point for coach Tracy Sutton.

Facing third and 6 from their own 45, quarterback Trey Waggle completed a pass to a receiver, whose forward progress would have earned a first down but he took two steps backward trying for extra yardage and was brought down a yard short.

“Our receivers and players need to do a better job of understanding the down and distance and just get a first down and not worry about anything more and just move the chains,” Sutton said.

Williams’ fourth down run received an unfavorable spot and Fulbright regained possession at their own 49. On the Timberwolves’ first play, Braden Fennell broke through more than one Farmington tackle on his way to a 51-yard touchdown run with 1: 42 to go in the first half. Sutton called time-out prior to the two-point conversion and got the defense re-oriented after giving up a big play. The strategy worked as the junior Cardinals successfully defended a pass denying Fulbright a game-tying conversion.

Holding an 8-6 lead, Farmington rose to the challenge redeeming the time remaining in the second stanza. Javon Jowers jump-started the offense by returning the ensuing kickoff near midfield to Farmington’s 47. With 1: 35 to go the junior Cardinals set their sights on the goal 53 yards away and brilliantly executed a screen pass with Waggle tossing the ball to Williams, who exploded down the left sideline. The Timberwolves finally tracked him down inside their own 5 but were flagged for a facemask stopping the clock at the 1: 04 mark of the second period.

“We ran a screen play. Our linemen got out and made some key blocks and our receivers made some good blocks,” Sutton said.

Williams scored on the next play with a 1-yard carry with Waggle then throwing to Skyler Montez for a two-point conversion and a 16- 6 advantage with 59 seconds to play. Fulbright’s Landon Beeler made things interesting by slipping in between the lanes to return the kickoff to the Timberwolves’ 47 but Farmington did not allow them to progress beyond midfield and the half ended with the junior Cardinals in front, 16-6.

Sutton said the touchdown killed all the momentum Fulbright had going into halftime.

“We were mad that they scored,” Sutton said. “It kind of woke them [Farmington players] up and kind of let us know that we needed to play a little harder.”

Farmington had a touchdown called back on their first possession of the third quarter with Waggle rolling to his left and hitting Gray on a 35-yard pass. An ineligible receiver downfield erased the score and Farmington turned the ball over on downs.

Another Farmington drive ended with an untimely fumble when Williams broke a 50-yard run and the last Timberwolf defender poked the ball out. Five plays later Fulbright fumbled the ball back to Farmington. The junior Cardinals then drove 53 yards in 10 plays for the game’s final touchdown. Waggle snuck over on fourth and one and Ben Silvis scooped up a low-thrown pass in the back of the end zone to convert for two points with 4:26 on the fourth quarter clock.

“We drill that about getting their hands underneath the ball and making a catch when it’s low,” Sutton said. “It’s nice to see that the kids take that out on the field, that they are actually listening.”