By Vernon Tarver
PRAIRIE GROVE — The Battle of Highway 62 lived up to its billing.
Farmington and Prairie Grove battled back and forth and down to the wire in a rivalry that sent the winner to the top of the 4A-1 Conference standings.
In the end, a fifth interception thrown by Cardinals quarterback Keaton Austin was a fitting finish, as Prairie Grove forced just enough Farmington mistakes to hold on for a 27-21 win at Tiger Stadium.
GameBreaker
Prairie Grove 27, Farmington 21
Why the Tigers won
Prairie Grove made all the necessary big plays on defense. The Tigers got five interceptions and stopped another Farmington drive on fourth down inside the red zone. Offensively, Weston Bartholomew churned out 169 yards to help a Tigers’ attack that played just enough keep away at the end.
Why the Cardinals lost
Too many missed opportunities. Farmington had several scoring chances break down because of either turnovers or penalties. The Cardinals also gave up a few too many big plays on defense to Bartholomew and Prairie Grove quarterback Cooper Winters.
“To tell you the truth it felt like, from the start of the game when we gave them a gift fumble, to almost the end of the game it took the whole game to get the momentum back,” Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier said. “They played almost a flawless game, it seemed like.
“Ok, we got some (interceptions) and stuff and I’m sure coach (Mike) Adams and Farmington don’t feel like they played a perfect game. But we just couldn’t get a break and they meant business. They came to play, but of course we did to.”
After a Weston Bartholomew fumble on the first play led to an early 7-0 Farmington lead, The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 4A-1) quickly found their offensive groove. With Bartholomew leading the way, Prairie Grove would quickly bounce back with big chunks of yardage on the ground.
But Farmington (4-1, 1-1) never let the Tigers out of their sights.
Despite falling behind 21-13 early midway through the third quarter, the Cardinals used a reverse-pass touchdown and strong defense in the fourth quarter to keep close.
At times, Farmington even had chances to take the lead late in the game, before Austin was intercepted on the team’s final three possessions.
“We just made too many mistakes,” Cardinals coach Mike Adams said. “Early in the ball game, we missed some tackles that allowed them to get some big plays on us. Then we played better defensively in the second half. And offensively we moved the ball and got down there in the redzone, but we got flustered and made some critical mistakes.”
Weston Bartholomew finished with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and Logan Bartholomew added 69 yards on 11 carries for the Tigers.
Spencer Boudrey paced the Farmington attack with 26 carries for 182 yards. Michael Ingram also had 72 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Cardinals.