1-4A

Prairie Grove loses points streak, not game

— Prairie Grove finally gave up its first points, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Tigers’ third consecutive victory.

Weston Bartholomew rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries to lead Prairie Grove to a 30-6 victory over Ozark on Friday in a 1-4A opener for both teams. Jon Halbert returned an interception 62 yards for a touchdown for the Tigers(3-0, 1-0), who won their first two games while outscoring opponents 84-0.

Ozark (3-1, 0-1) broke the scoreless streak when Ty Radley caught a 24-yard pass from quarterback Jonathon McKenizie with 3:32 left in the game. The Tigers then added a final touchdown when Noah Hunter scored on a 38-yard run.

Logan Bartholomew added110 yards on 11 carries for Prairie Grove.

“Prairie Grove is good up front and they whipped us all night long,” Ozark Coach Jeremie Burns said. “They blocked us, tackled us, and they were a lot tougher than us tonight.”

Prairie Grove was holding a 3-0 lead late in the second quarter when Logan Bartholomew broke loose for a 43-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers ahead 10-0 at halftime. The Tigers faced third-and-14 when Logan Bartholomew bounced to the left side and outraced the Hillbillies defenders for the only touchdown of the first half.

Prairie Grove was still leading 10-0 in the fourth quarter when the Tigers stopped Ozark on fourth-and-1 at its 31. Prairie Grove then moved downfield on runs by Logan Bartholomew and Weston Bartholomew and scored to take a 16-0 lead, after a missed extra point. Weston Bartholomew scored the touchdown on fourth down when he ran 13 yards through the middle of the Ozark defense.

Prairie Grove kept its scoreless streak going into the fourth quarter after TrippWhite missed a 20-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Prairie Grove defense also held Ozark after the Tigers were stopped on a fourthdown gamble near midfield.

“More than once our defense came up with big plays,” Prairie Grove Coach Danny Abshier said. “They were wanting a shutout right there, but Ozark is pretty good.”

Ozark’s biggest play of the first half came when McKenzie kept for 50 yards down to the Prairie Grove 8. The Tigers then stiffened and survived a missed field goal despite a horsecollar penaltythat gave Ozark another offensive play.

Ozark got a break in the third quarter when the Hillbillies recovered a fumbled punt at the Tigers’ 21. But Ozark gave the ball back on the next play when Bubba Elder fumbled to Prairie Grove at the Tigers’ 13.

The Tigers gave Ozark another chance with a fumble near midfield in the fourth quarter. But Halbert put the game away when he intercepted a pass by McKenzie and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown to stretch the Tigers’ lead to 23-0.

Sports, Pages 24 on 09/22/2012

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