BENTONVILLE — The pass play was designed for Jimmie Jackson to gain a few yards, enough to keep Bentonville’s drive alive.
The senior receiver did that, and a lot more. He caught the pass from Kasey Ford and turned it into a 46-yard touchdown pass, and the Tigers went on to score 24 straight points and win the 7A/6A-West Conference opener with a 45-20 victory over Springdale Har-Ber in Tiger Stadium.
Jackson cut to his left and caught the pass near the Wildcats 32, then pulled away from the Har-Ber defender. After that, it was clear sailing to the end zone, and Bennett Moehring’s extra point gave Bentonville (2-2, 1-0) a 28-20 lead with 2 minutes, 31 seconds left in the third quarter.
“When you get the ball to your playmakers, you’re hoping they will make plays like that,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said. “We had several big plays on offense, and Jimmie made quite a few. He had a nice night.”
Bentonville then turned turnovers into points to pull away from Har-Ber (2-2, 0-1). Luke Hannon had the ball stripped from his hands on the ensuing kickoff, and Hunter Holzhauser grabbed the ball in midair to give the Tigers the ball. Ford, who finished the game with four touchdown passes, followed a penalty by hitting Hunter Smithpeters with a 28-yard scoring strike on the following play with 2:01 left in the third quarter.
Bentonville produced more points off Har-Ber miscuesin the fourth quarter. Cody Scroggins’ interception led to Moehring’s 47-yard field goal with 2:27 remaining, then Colton Ross’ interception and return to the Har-Ber 9 led to Dylan Smith’s touchdown run on the following play.
“We had our opportunities, but we just come up short,” said Har-Ber coach Chris Wood, whose team falls to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play. “We made the run. They were able to get the cushion on us, and we couldn’t get back into striking distance.”
EXTRA POINTS
w Har-Ber quarterback Kyle Pianalto used a pair of long passes to turn a 21-6 halftime deficit into a one-point game in the third quarter. He hit Gus Vitt with a 49-yard touchdown pass with 7:24 left in the third quarter, then connected with Camden Scott from the same distance almost two minutes later.
w Jackson, who missed last week’s game against Euless (Texas) Trinity with a strained hamstring, gave Bentonville an early 7-3 lead when he caught a 52-yard pass from Ford with second left in the first quarter.
w Smith, who had only 15 yards in his first taste of action last week, gave the Tigers a 21-3 lead when he broke a pair of tackles and ran 55 yards for a touchdown.
UP NEXT: Bentonville goes on the road for the first time since its season opener when the Tigers travel to Siloam Springs. Har-Ber returns home to face Rogers Heritage.
HOW THEY SCORED
Bentonville 45, Springdale Har-Ber 20
Har-Ber^3^3^14^0^—^20
Bentonville^7^14^14^10^—^45
First Quarter
Har — FG O’Brien 25, 5:17
Bent — Jackson 52 pass from Ford (Moehring kick), :16
Second Quarter
Bent — Scroggins 24 pass from Ford (Moehring kick), 8:52
Bent — Smith 55 run (Moehring kick), 1:40
Har — FG O’Brien 22, 0:00
Third Quarter
Har — Vitt 49 pass from Pianalto (O’Brien kick), 7:41
Har — Scott 49 pass from Pianalto (O’Brien kick), 5:24
Bent — Jackson 46 pass from Ford (Moehring kick), 2:31
Bent — Smithpeters 28 pass from Ford (Moehring kick), 2:01
Fourth Quarter
Bent — FG Moehring 47, 2:27
Bent — Smith 9 run (Moehring kick), 1:47