Bentonville Hopes For More Big Plays Against Har-Ber

By Nathan Allen

Posted: November 5, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.

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SPRINGDALE — Bentonville senior running back Courtney Haskell didn’t like the way things were going last week when the Tigers’ offense couldn’t move the ball against Springdale High.

Despite two different possessions where Bentonville showed it might be able to get the ball in the end zone, the Tigers came up empty.

“We can’t do that. We have to get our offense going early in the gameif want to have a chance,” Haskell said after last week’s 28-0 victory. “We’ve got to find the big play.”

That big-play potential is what has kept the Tigers (8-1, 5-1 7A-West Conference) consistently successful this season, especially with Haskell and senior Shane Boedeker in the backfield. When Bentonville isn’t running the ball, it’s throwing passes - to several different receivers - on the arm of junior quarterback Pearson Gean.

Not only has Gean completed 74 passes for 1,239 yards and 15 touchdowns, but Haskell and Boedeker have combined for 1,594 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns.

Last week against Springdale, it took a 64-yard pass from Gean to Haskell just before halftime to kickstart the Tigers’ blowout victory of the Red’Dogs.

“We know we can’t give up the big play; that’s been their motto all season,” Springdale Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. “Bentonville is so talented at every position. We can’t afford to let them throw deep or let them run 70 or more yards for a touchdown.”

Thankfully for the Wildcats, who could win this year’s conference championship outright with a victory over Bentonville, they have the best defense in the conference.

Through nine games, Har-Ber has given up only 290 rushing yards and are only giving up an average of 156.8 total yards per game.

That’s because of Har-Ber’s stout defensive line and solid group of players in the secondary, Lunney said.

“They’re a great defense,” said Lunney, whose team is averaging 42.4 points per game. “There’s no doubt about it, a very outstanding defensive football team. They’re giving up so few rushing yards this season; it’s almost unbelievable.

“They’ve been real stingy versus the run. They have a lot of aggressive, upperclassmen on that defense, and they remind me a lot of the group we had last year in that sense. They’re very physical.”

Lunney also said Bentonville’s defense will try to be ready for whatever Har-Ber does offensively, including rushes from senior Houston Pruitt and passes from quarterback Ryan Luther.

Last week against Fayetteville, Luther completed a season-high five touchdown passes, including four to Jordan Nicholson.

“Our guys have been playing so hard. I really like their effort,” Lunney said. “We’ve got to be ready. Har-Ber does a lot of things on offense and we have to be ready for all of it, and that’s no easy task.”

Sports, Pages 7 on 11/05/2009

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