BENTONVILLE — Earning a first-round bye for the Class 7A playoffs meant the Bentonville football team achieved one of its top goals this season. The Tigers didn’t exactly enjoy their time off, however.
They had no opponent to prepare for last week, no scouting film to watch. And that drove Bentonville coach Barry Lunney and his players crazy.
“It was just so long. Two weeks is a long, long time to go between playing when you’re used to going every week,” Lunney said. “It let us get over some minor injuries, but that might have been the only good thing. We got out of our routine and that was hard. I am proud that the kids managed it well.”
Despite pleasing Lunney with the way they handled the layoff, the Tigers are eagerly welcoming the return of actual competition. Fort Smith Southside travels to Tiger Stadium tonight for a 7A quarterfinal matchup, and the fact the Tigers are facing the Rebels provides more motivation, as well.
Bentonville’s coaches and players certainly haven’t forgotten the manner in which Southside handed the Tigers (9-1) their lone defeat this season. Southside dominated Bentonville on Oct. 2, playing inspired football during a 31-21 victory on the night the school renamed its stadium after longtime athletic director Jim Rowland.
The Rebels (7-4) controlled the time of possession battle, rushing 55 times for 203 yards, and capitalized on numerous Bentonville mistakes. The humbling defeat demoralized the Tigers, but it also helped them for the rest of their season.
“I think it was a hard lesson for us to learn about preparation and focus,” Lunney said. “I still give a lot of credit to Southside. They played harder than us, and they wanted the ballgame a little worse than we did. But we felt like we didn’t give a good account of ourselves as players or coaches at all. We all felt like we could’ve played a lot better.”
Senior running back Shane Boedeker said the Tigers ached after the defeat, but actually felt a sense of relief afterward. The pressures of a potential undefeated season went away, and they could move on to their foremost goal for the season — a second straight state championship.
Boedeker said they couldn’t avoid thoughts of revenge during this week’s preparations.
“We’re really ready to get back at Southside,” Boedeker said. “I don’t even think that was this Bentonville team that went down there. It was like we were a whole different team. We were unprepared. We weren’t focused. It was bad all around. This week, our focus has been great.”
Southside coach Jeff Williams said he expected his Rebels to encounter an intense Bentonville team. The Rebels, after all, know how it feels to avenge previous defeats.
Bentonville beat Southside 14-7 during the regular season last year. The Tigers then defeated the Rebels 32-20 in the 7A state championship game, giving Southside ample inspiration for this year’s conference 7A-West tilt.
Lunney said the revenge factor “couldn’t hurt” the Tigers as they primed for tonight’s contest, but the veteran coach promised they’d have more important aspirations on their minds.
“It is the playoffs and we have to play whoever’s there, but it’s hard to ignore the fact our opponent is the team that gave us our only blemish,” Lunney said. “Regardless of our opponent, we knew that we’d be playing to win a state championship. But I think some of us have thought back to Week 5 this week. It’s kind of hard not to.”
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