4A-1 Showdown Friday

Prairie Grove is 2-0 in conference play headed into this week’s showdown with co-leaders, Shiloh Christian, on the Saints’ home field Friday, followed by the Tigers’ Homecoming game against Pea Ridge Oct. 14.

Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier isn’t one to complain about having two tough league opponents back to back.

“The schedule ebbs and flows,” Abshier said, explaining one year a team is up and couple of years later they may not be as sharp.

“Shiloh has been whipping up on people, Pea Ridge has been whipping up on people,” Abshier said. “We’ve got them in a row, maybe after that we can shorten them down, kind of like you do in a game.”

The Tigers shortened Friday’s 35-0 win by outgaining Gravette by a 395 to 110 margin in total yards. Prairie Grove’s defense held the Lions to 35 yards on 24 rushing attempts for an average of 1.5-yards- per- run. Gravette’s longest run in the game was 11 yards

“The guys pulled off Coach (Craig) Laird’s game plan well,” Abshier said, praising the defensive unit for excellent play.

Prairie Grove started slow, punting away their first possession, then taking 13 plays to score on senior Zeke Laird’s 1-yard quarterback sneak in the first quarter. Abshier says the Tigers will have to get off to a quick start offensively against Shiloh if they expect to score a lot of points. Prairie Grove will throw the football, they just prefer to run. Zeke Laird connected with tight end DeMarkus Cooper for nine yards to convert a third down on the drive and passed to Weston Smith for the 2-point conversion. Facing third and long (24 yards after back- to- back sacks and a penalty), the Tigers lined up with two receivers split out on each side from their own 22.

Isaac Disney was outside right and ran a route 10 yards deeper than the slot man. Zeke Laird hit him in stride at the Lions’ 38 and he outran both the cornerback and safety for a 72-yard touchdown. Senior Clay Fidler kicked the point-after and the Tigers were in front, 15-0, a lead they maintained at halftime after Disney intercepted a Gravette pass late in the second.

The Tigers cranked up their running game in the second half, gaining 308 total yards on the ground in the contest and put the game away by scoring on three consecutive drives. Johnson set up his own touchdown run with a 46-yard jaunt.

The defense bit on a fullback cut up the middle and Johnson took a handoff as the second back through. Tiger blockers paved the way as Johnson cut inside behind a block.

He accelerated at the Tiger 40 past two defenders. Gravette junior Austin O’Brien had an angle and prevented a touchdown by tracking Johnson down at the 16. No matter, Johnson scored from the one. Fidler’s kick pushed the Tiger advantage to 22-0 with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter.

The Tigers forced a three and out. Gravette punted and Johnson scored on a 38-yard touchdown run. Running a counter, he again saw outside containment and cut upfield at the left hashmark. Stepping out of a leg tackle, he got outside aided by a block and ran down the left sideline reaching the end zone 10 yards in front of the nearest Lion defender. Although the P. A.T. failed, Prairie Grove was within one score of invoking a mercy rule running clock with a 28-0 lead after three periods of play.

The ground game chewed up more real estate, including a 21-yard gain on a wingback reverse. Reed Orr contributed 81 yards on 9 carries and Kyle Sam added 58 yards on 12 carries. Orr polished off a Prairie Grove drive with a 43-yard touchdown run. His run was a beauty. Lined up to the left as a halfback, Orr took the handoff going right.

Running behind solid blocking at the point of attack, Orr got past Gravette sophomore linebacker Colton Grimes, who had outside containment and turned him upfield. Orr’s Tiger teammates sustained their blocks freeing him to see an opening and run outside. He stepped around a defender being blocked to the turf at the Lion 38 and avoided another tackle at the 28 as two defenders collided. Orr did a tap dance down the sideline to reach pay dirt. Fidler’s kick provided the 35-point margin and the final 8:45 was played with a running clock.

Abshier said timing is a key for blockers to open holes and as good as Prairie Grove has done, there is still room for improvement.

“Some people are blocking better than others,” Abshier said. “Our timing is good, but not excellent.”

As for Friday’s contest in Springdale on the Saints’ home field, Abshier said the defense must contain Shiloh’s passing attack, noting Shiloh’s quarterback is a multi-threat, having capacity to both run and pass. He said the Tigers must take care of the football. Friday’s kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE ENTERPRISE-LEADER.