Ford Up To Challenge In Big Game

Bentonville's QB Kasey Ford, scrambles upfield for a first down but is finally brought down by Cabot's Jacob Ferguson  in the first half during their class 7a championship game Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Bentonville's QB Kasey Ford, scrambles upfield for a first down but is finally brought down by Cabot's Jacob Ferguson in the first half during their class 7a championship game Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

LITTLE ROCK — Since he took over as Bentonville’s quarterback, Kasey Ford had yet to throw for more than 200 yards in a game this season.

The Class 7A State Cham- pionship was a perfect time to do it.

The sophomore completed 11 of 18 attempts for 265 yards and three touchdowns Friday night and was named the most valuable player after he directed the Tigers to their second state title in four years with a 39-28 victory over Cabot in War Memo- rial Stadium.

“Throwing the ball, we’ve been doing decent at it,” Ford said. “I threw the ball, and they caught the ball. That’s what we did all night.”

Ford’s 52-yard pass to Jimmie Jackson to the Cabot 10 helped Benton- ville (11-2) regain some momentum after Cabot (12-1) took a 14-10 lead on Zach Launius’ 1-yard run with 54 seconds before halftime. The Tigers didn’t get the lead at the moment, settling for Bennett Moeh- ring’s 31-yard field goal as time expired, but they would also get the ball to start the second half.

Bentonville went on the attack with a 14-yard run by Dylan Smith, then Ford hit Cody Scroggins with a 41-yard pass to the Cabot 20. Six plays later, Hekili Keliiliki bullied his way in on a 1-yard touchdown run on a fourth-down play, and Moehring’s PAT gave Bentonville a 20-14 lead with 8 minutes, 48 seconds left in the third quarter.

“That’s what we wavered with at halftime: if we were going to take a shot,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said. “We went in knowing we would get the ball. Those three points were big as far as momen- tum.

“We really felt like we could move the ball on them, but in these condi- tions, you just never know.”

Ford then helped Benton- ville take advantage of Tyler Nichols’ two fumble recoveries to pull away. His first came on Launius’ seventh straight carry of the third quarter, giving the Tigers the ball on their 48, and Ford hit Scroggins with a 19-yard touchdown pass at the 3:31 mark.

Launius then fumbled again, and Nichols grabbed the loose ball on the second play of the fourth quarter. The Tigers needed only six plays to strike again as Ford pump-faked, then hit a wide-open Jackson for a 44-yard touchdown pass with 8:43 remaining.

“He’s a good-looking

player, although he’d be at left tackle if he played for me,” Malham said. “But he’s a very smart player and a heck of a quarterback. He didn’t do anything to get them beat.”

EXTRA POINTS

◗ Senior inside linebacker Nick Fernandez finished with a game-high 22 tack- les (12 solo, 10 assists) and passed Harrison Rooney for the team lead with 119 this season. Defensive linemen Jared Conover and Javier Carbonell also finished in double-digit tackles with 12 and 10, respectively.

◗ Keliiliki sealed Benton- ville’s victory when he bolted for an 18-yard run on a fourth-and-2 play with 1:47 remaining.

◗ Jackson had four catches for 114 yards, and his touchdown was the 11th out of 35 receptions this season. Scroggins also had four catches, finishing with 110 yards and a score.

◗ Launius finished with 39 carries for 179 yards and three touchdowns, and he also had a hand in Cabot’s first score when he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry in the second quarter.