Har-Ber Tandem Produces In Win

By By Nathan Allen <a href="mailto:NALLEN@NWAONLINE.N

Posted: November 2, 2009 at 5:42 a.m.

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SPRINGDALE — No Gordon Welch? No problem.

Springdale Har-Ber used the senior tandem of Houston Pruitt and Kaleb Vaughn Friday night to produce a 25-point victory over Fayetteville, the Wildcats’ biggest victory this season.

Welch, a junior running back, has been the focus of Har-Ber’s running attack this season, but coaches decided late last week hewouldn’t play after suffering a second-degree strain in his right shoulder against Fort Smith Southside.

Pruitt and Vaughn combined for 246 rushing yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run from Pruitt in the third quarter.

The e◊ort was good enough to name both seniors the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers Players of the Week.

“Houston kind of gave us a spark plug, and Kaleb ran hard in the end,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said after the game. “Early on, I thought (Vaughn) was kind of feeling his way through. You’re talking about moving a receiver to tailback in a power and counter run scheme.

“It just takes time, but being able to put Houston back there (helped). Once he got to the next level, he was gone. That helped Kaleb out, and he really took over in the second half and pounded it in there.”

Normally, Pruitt has played in the defensive secondary this season and Vaughn has been a receiver. A few times, the Wildcats (9-0, 6-0 7A-West Conference) have included Pruitt on o◊ense, letting him take direct snaps in their “Wildcat” formation.

But Friday was the first time both players were used in the backfi eld all game long, something Har-Ber desperately needed to keep its undefeated record intact.

“It’s a lot of fun because of being on defense the past few years,” Pruitt said. “You get on offense more, and you’re eyes get real big. I just love being over there.”

Pruitt also caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Luther just before halftime to give the Wildcats a 20-14 lead. The play was a swing pass to the left flat, and Pruitt - using a running back’s mentality - went untouched down the sideline.

“I got it, and the line just cleared everybody out,” Pruitt said. “I saw the end zone and just ran full speed.” Other Top Performers

! Grant Driver and Reed Brown, Rogers Heritage - Brown fi nished with 154 passing yards and one touchdown, which was to Driver in the fi rst quarter to help give the War Eagles their seventh victory of the season and their biggest conference victory in the team’s two-year history.

! Courtney Haskell, Bentonville - Haskell jump-started Bentonville’s offense against Springdale High by catching a 64-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and adding another 79-yard touchdown run in the third. Haskell finished with 256 yards of total o◊ense.

! Jason Oller, Rogers High - Despite the Mounties losing in overtime to Fort Smith Northside, Oller ran for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

! Ryan Luther and Jordan Nicholson, Springdale Har-Ber - Luther connected with Nicholson several times against Fayetteville, including four times for touchdowns. Luther finished with nine completed passes for 217 yards and five touchdowns.

! Caleb Ramsey, Gentry - The Pioneer quarterbackcompleted 16 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns to help keep Gentry’s playoff hopes alive in the 4A-1 Conference.

! Kiehl Frazier, Shiloh Christian - Frazier passed for 424 yards and four touchdowns while running for another score in the Saints’ blowout victory over Huntsville.

! Michael Croasdell, Gravette - Croasdell ran for three touchdowns in the Lions’ 35-0 victory against Berryville. Croasdell’s big performance also helped Gravette wrap up the No. 2 seed in the playoffs from the 4A-1 Conference.

Sports, Pages 12 on 11/02/2009

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