SPRINGDALE — Just because Bentonville football coach Barry Lunney is on the sidelines during every game doesn’t mean he has the best view of everything that happens on the field.
Lunney said he never saw who tipped the ball into Nate Gneiting’s hands for a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the first half of Friday’s game against Springdale Har-Ber at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.
That Figures:
4 — straight 100-plus yards rushing for Tearris Wallace
19 — consecutive conference victories for Bentonville
22 — passing yards allowed by Bentonville’s defense
“I love this stadium for a lot of reasons,” Lunney said after the Tigers’ 28-7 victory in the 7A/6A-West Conference opener for both teams. “Because of the proximity of the fans, it’s a great atmosphere.
“But it’s also the worst place to see a football game on the sideline. I don’t know; I couldn’t tell who did or who didn’t tip the ball. Sometimes you would rather be lucky than good, and that time we had a little bit of luck bounce our way.”
Bentonville (4-0, 1-0) faced first-and-goal at the Har-Ber 5 when quarterback Reece Dollins rolled to his right — toward the Tigers’ sideline — and fired the pass into the end zone. Cody Scroggins and a Har-Ber defender went up for the ball, but both came away empty-handed.
That wasn’t the case for Gneiting. He was there in the corner of the end zone to haul in the tipped ball. Dillon Wade’s PAT then gave Bentonville a 21-7 halftime cushion.
Play of the Night: Outside linebacker Jimmy Short intercepted Kyle Pianalto’s pass midway in the second quarter and set up Bentonville’s go-ahead touchdown. Short would have had a 32-yard return for a score had it not been for a penalty called after the interception.
Injury Update: Senior offensive tackle Trevor Foster went down with an apparent knee injury in Bentonville’s opening drive and never returned. Offensive line coach Aaron Danenhauer listed Foster’s status as “not good” when asked Saturday morning.
Player of the Game: Gneiting had only two receptions, but both of them were for touchdowns. His first catch, a 21-yarder, gave Bentonville the lead for good midway in the second quarter.
Notable: Tearris Wallace finished with 28 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns, giving the tailback at least 25 carries in all four games. ... Bentonville now has won the last five meetings against Har-Ber and sports a 6-2 advantage over the Wildcats. ... The Tigers’ defense now has 11 interceptions and 14 total takeaways through four games after Short and Chris Mizelle intercepted passes ... Outside linebacker Clay Wallace had his best game of the season with a team-high 12 tackles, including a pair of quarterback sacks. ... Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn and assistant Eli Drinkwitz was in attendance. Inside linebacker Garrett Kaufman has already orally committed to sign with the Red Wolves.
The Lingo: “The thing I’m proud of is that we took that early, first-quarter punch, so to speak in coaching vernacular. Our guys kept their compsure, did what we were working on, made some adjustments and kept playing hard. Our guys played hard and got back in it.”
— Bentonville coach Barry Lunney
Up Next: Bentonville returns to 7A/6A-West action Friday night at home against league newcomer Siloam Springs, which was roughed up in its conference debut with a 70-21 loss to Rogers Heritage.