BENTONVILLE — Reese Dollins faked the handoff, then drifted to his left. With no pressure on him, Bentonville’s quarterback had all the time he needed to find an open receiver.
GAMEBREAKER
Bentonville 42 West Memphis 0
Why the Tigers won
Quarterback Reese Dollins hardly felt pressure, and he threw for 170 yards and four touchdowns — three of them in the second quarter.
Why the Blue Devils lost
West Memphis’ first five offensive plays included an interception and a fumble, which Austin Haggard returned for a touchdown. Its offense never made it past the Bentonville 27 the entire game.
The wait wasn’t a long one as Trey Perkins found the open spot behind the West Memphis secondary near the left sideline. Dollins then hit him with ease for a 22-yard touchdown pass in the opening minute of the second quarter.
It was just the beginning for Dollins, who threw for 170 yards and four touchdowns as Bentonville rolled to a 42-0 victory over West Memphis in the Class 7A state quarterfinals in Tiger Stadium.
Dollins completed 9 of 10 passes and threw touchdown passes to four different receivers as Bentonville (11-0) advanced to next week’s semifinal game at home against Fort Smith Southside, a 24-22 winner over Springdale Har-Ber.
“We got that level of being comfortable, which is crucial out there,” Dollins said. “When that comes, it all comes easy. The game slows down, and the receivers are wanting to make big plays. That’s what happened.”
Dollins threw three of his touchdown passes in the second quarter as Bentonville stretched its lead to 28-0 at halftime. He dropped back and hit Cody Scroggins with an 18-yard touchdown pass, then rolled to his right and fired across the field to tight end Jack Kraus, who turned it into a 33-yard scoring play with 2 minutes, 13 seconds before halftime.
Dollins then made the most of the only time West Memphis was able to get pressure on him. He broke out of the pocket to hit Nate Gneiting with a 37-yard pass to the Blue Devils 9, then he connected with Chase Morse with a 6-yard touchdown toss three plays later.
“West Memphis is very aggressive up front and made it tough to run at times,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said. “You have to try to take advantage of the things that are working.
“We felt we had the opportunity to hit some passes and throw it around a bit. We did a good job of executing the passing game. The kids also caught the ball well.”
West Memphis didn’t help its cause by turning the ball over twice in its first five offensive plays. The second turnover was a fumble by Kendall Allen that Bentonville’s Austin Haggard picked up and ran 24 yards for Bentonville’s first touchdown.
The Blue Devils’ serious scoring threat came after the fumble when they drove from their 12 to the Bentonville 27 in 12 plays. Bentonville’s defense stiffened at that point, including a stop on fourth down after West Memphis had been successful on two fourth-down attempts earlier.
“We had a few penalties, and that’s hard to overcome against a good defense,” Blue Devils coach Lanny Dauksch said. “They have such a fast defense, and we’re running right at them. You just can’t do that all the way up and down the field.
“That fumble was tough. I never saw it, and (Allen) said he was down and rolled the ball out. You know, you can’t do that. There are no replays, and they end up getting seven out of it.”