BENTONVILLE — It just wasn’t the typical Bentonville football victory Friday night.
The Tigers’ offense, which normally prides itself in how well it hangs onto the ball, fumbled four times and lost two of them when it could have put Fort Smith Southside away. The defense allowed 300 yards total offense for the first time this season and gave up two touchdown passes — double the number it had all season.
That Figures
3 — Consecutive state championship appearances for Bentonville
7 — Tigers players with at least one catch Friday
41 — Carries for tailback Tearris Wallace, a career-high
Bentonville still battled through that adversity to claim a 28-21 victory over Southside in Tiger Stadium and advanced to the Class 7A State Championship for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in five years. The Tigers (12-0), however, couldn’t rest easy until Austin Haggard recovered a Rebels’ onside kick attempt with 16 seconds remaining.
“We persevered and won the football game,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said to his players after the game. “That says a whole lot about this football team.
“The main thing is we’ve got a big week next week. The main thing is we’re going to Little Rock. We’re going back, and you get a chance to do it again. Not many people get a chance to go back.”
Reese Dollins threw three touchdown passes — one to Nate Gneiting and two to Cody Scroggins — and Bentonville gave Southside (8-4) an extremely large dose of tailback Tearris Wallace. The senior tailback had a career-high 41 carries for 175 yards and a touchdown.
Yet the game didn’t play out the way the Tigers had planned, and Lunney took full responsibility for it.
“We played a little more conservative than we should have,” he said. “We trusted them early on in places, and they executed and made plays.
“I got a little conservative, trying to use the clock. I kept thinking we could run it and we could break one. I didn’t trust my coaches, and that’s Coach Lunney’s fault.”
Play of the Night: Junior receiver Jimmie Jackson raced downfield and recovered Trey Perkins’ fumble at the Southside 8, helping Bentonville avoid disaster early in the third quarter. The Tigers scored on the following play on a pass from Dollins to Scroggins.
Injury Update: No serious injuries reported.
Player of the Game: Scroggins, a sophomore receiver, had three receptions for 28 yards, but two of them were for touchdowns. His 18-yard touchdown catch helped Bentonville take the lead for good late in the first half.
Notable: Scroggins has three touchdown catches in Bentonville’s two playoff games after finishing the regular season with only one. ... Inside linebacker Garrett Kaufman had a game-high 16 tackles (8 solo, 7 assists, 1 tackle for loss), but second place was shared by linebacker John Donald and defensive lineman Javier Carbonell with nine apiece. ... Southside quarterback Austin Jackson had 31 yards rushing on the opening drive, but the Tigers’ defensive held him to two yards on the ground after that.
The Lingo: “I should have let them play like they had been coached. The kids had some big plays, and they’ve done it all year. We got a little tight, and it started with me.”
— Barry Lunney
Bentonville coach
Up Next: Bentonville returns to action at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in War Memorial Stadium against 7A/6A-West Conference rival Fayetteville. It’s a repeat of the last two state championship games, with each team winning one.