BENTONVILLE — The play called for Cody Scroggins to see what Fort Smith Southside’s safety was going to do in pass coverage, then make his move.
Bentonville’s sophomore receiver made a cut toward the center of the field, and quarterback Reese Dollins hit him with a pass at the goal line Friday night. The 17-yard touchdown pass with 26 seconds left in the first half gave the Tigers a lead they never relinquished in a 28-21 victory over the Rebels in the semifinals of the Class 7A state playoffs at Tiger Stadium.
“I was running and had to see if anybody was in the middle of the field,” Scroggins said. “Reese threw a great ball to me. I had one guy behind and another one to pop me if I didn’t catch it.”
The victory moves Bentonville (12-0) into the Class 7A state championship game for the third consecutive season, and it will face conference rival Fayetteville - a 30-28 winner at North Little Rock - for the title for the third consecutive season.
The teams, who split the past two championship games, will meet at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Austin Haggard set up the go-ahead score with his 32-yard punt return to the Southside 29. Bentonville appeared to be stalled when Dollins was sacked on second down, then an incomplete pass intended for Scroggins made it fourthand-15 at the Rebels’ 34.
Bentonville opted to go for it, and Dollins hit Jimmie Jackson with a 17-yard pass to keep the drive alive. Dollins connected with Scroggins two plays later, and Dillon Wade’s extra point gave the Tigers a 14-7 lead.
“It was a great play, good execution and a good throw,” Bentonville Coach Barry Lunney said. “Cody ran a nice route. I think I heard [receivers coach Kevin York] suggest the play because of the coverage.
“Those are the things we’ve been doing all year, and I probably should have trusted my coaches more. I take the credit for reeling them in.”
Scroggins added an 8-yard touchdown pass on a bubble screen to give Bentonville a 21-7 lead with 9 minutes,55 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Southside (8-4) refused to go down easily as Austin Jackson connected with Reece Strickland for touchdown passes of 30 and 33 yards in the fourth quarter.
“I’m real proud of our football team,” Southside Coach Jeff Williams said. “We had about six guys out injured. It would have been easy to come in here and lay an egg, and our guys stepped it up.”
Haggard also had two crucial plays in the second half. His interception of a Jackson pass set up Bentonville’s final score, which came on a 1-yard touchdown run by Tearris Wallace - who finished the game with 175 yards on a career-high 41 carries - with 4:23 remaining. He also came away with the onside kick recovery in the closing seconds.
Sports, Pages 30 on 11/24/2012