SPRINGDALE — Barry Lunney knows a thing or two about getting his players fired up.
He certainly worked his magic Friday night.
After Bentonville senior Dakota Baggett fumbled on a kickoff return near midfield early in the first quarter, Lunney raced up and down the sideline to let the referees know he didn’t agree with their call.
At first, Lunney thought Baggett fell on the ground before losing control of the ball, which would have maintained possession for the Tigers. But with the quick turnover, Lunney instead did what he does best and used the play to motivate his players.
The plan worked to perfection.
Top-ranked Bentonvillescored four consecutive touchdowns in the second and third quarters to blow out Springdale 42-7 at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium and keep its undefeated season alive.
The Tigers (9-0, 6-0 7AWest Conference) have now won at least a share of the conference championship four consecutive years and will have a chance to win it outright next week against Springdale Har-Ber.
“I wanted to regroup our kids and make sure we were focused,” Lunney said. “I wanted them to get a little more intense than they wereon that last drive. I wanted to be able to talk to them and breath a little fire in them.
“Calls happen, those things happen, and you have to bounce back.”
Bentonville quarterback Dallas Hardison completed 9 of 14 passes for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns, two of which were to senior receiver Drew Edwards. Edwards finished with 3 catches for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Bentonville scored early in the first quarter with a threeplay drive that ended with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Hardison to Edwards.
But Springdale (5-4, 3-3) responded with a long drive of its own, taking 15 plays to score on a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joseph Calcagni to Henry Hernandez.
The Bulldogs recovered Baggett’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff return but never found a way to reach the end zone the rest of the game.
Calcagni completed 13 passes for 129 yards in the first half but struggled in the second half as he threw only three incompletions.
The tougher aspect of Springdale’s loss is a potentially devastating injury to junior running back Rahmon Taylor, who limped off the field midway through the second quarter after being tackled on a pass play.
Springdale Coach Shane Patrick said he didn’t know the extent of Taylor’s rightknee injury, but Taylor was taken to a hospital Friday night to have it evaluated.
“When Rahmon went down, we let our heads drop a little bit and we ended up with several injuries,” Patrick said. “I’m not taking anything away from [Bentonville. They showed why they’re ranked number one. We have to come back and do a better job.
“We still have a lot of football left ahead of us.”
Sports, Pages 26 on 10/30/2010