BENTONVILLE — What Tyrone Mahone didn’t do to steal any momentum Springdale High’s football team had built Friday night, Kasey Ford and Cody Scroggins took care of the rest.
Mahone intercepted Fuller Chandler and returned it to the Bulldogs 39, then his two Bentonville teammates connected for a touchdown pass on the following play, paving the way for the Tigers’ 38-0 rout in 7A/6A-West Conference play at Tiger Stadium.
Springdale (5-4, 3-3) looked for a quick strike after Cua Rose blocked Bennett Moehring’s 50-yard field-goal attempt on Bentonville’s opening possession. Chandler dropped back and threw deep, but the ball was slightly underthrown and fell into the hands of Mahone at the Bentonville 35.
The Tigers’ sophomore defensive back returned the ball to the Springdale 39, setting the stage for the following play. Ford fired deep for Scroggins, who grabbed the ball in front of a Red’Dogs defender and fell into the end zone with 8 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
“Give Springdale credit because they had a nice plan,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said. “They play man-to-man, put a lot of people in the box. They made a commitment to stopping the run and challenged our sophomore quarterback to make plays.
“Gosh, we executed extremely well in the passing game.”
The interception was one of two that Chandler had, and Bentonville (8-2, 6-0) turned both of them into points. Tyler Nichols picked off a Chandler pass in the second quarter, and Moehring’s 39-yard field goal gave the Tigers a 24-0 lead.
The other came when Springdale mishandled a kickoff, and Roderick Edelen recovered the fumble at the Red’Dogs 24. Dylan Smith scored four plays later on a 4-yard run and completed Bentonville’s scoring with 4:57 before halftime.
“We made some mistakes, and they took advantage of it,” Springdale coach Shane Patrick said. “It’s just one of those things.
“You can’t do that against teams like this. Bad things are going to happen when you have turnovers and you don’t take advantage of opportunities you’re given.”
EXTRA POINTS
• The win means Bentonville has clinched a share of the 7A/6A West conference title and also secured a first-round bye in the Class 7A State Playoffs and a quarterfinal game at home on Nov. 22. The Tigers can win the conference outright with a victory over Fayetteville next week.
• Ford completed only 4 of 10 pass attempts but picked up 176 yards through the air, including an 80-yard touchdown pass to Jimmie Jackson midway into the second quarter.
• Springdale’s offense struggled throughout the contest, with 128 yards total offense. The Red’Dogs reached the Bentonville 49 on two occasions in the second half but never any closer than that.
• Springdale gambled on its opening possession and went for it on a fourth-and-1 play from its 29. Javier Carbonell, however, broke through the Red’Dogs offensive line and dropped Deandre Murray for a 2-yard loss.
UP NEXT: Springdale returns to Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium to close out its regular season against crosstown rival Springdale Har-Ber, while Bentonville travels to play Fayetteville at Harmon Field.
HOW THEY SCORED
Bentonville 38, Springdale High 0
Springdale^0^0^0^0^—^0
Bentonville^14^24^0^0^—^38
First Quarter
Bent — Scroggins 39 pass from Ford (Moehring kick), 8:30
Bent — Keliiliki 6 run (Moehring kick), 2:29
Second Quarter
Bent — Smith 4 run (Moehring kick), 10:16
Bent — FG Moehring 39, 8:25
Bent — Jackson 80 pass from Ford (Moehring kick), 6:18
Bent — Smith 3 run (Moehring kick), 4:57