BENTONVILLE -- Tim Fernandez provided Bentonville with some much needed defensive heroics for the second consecutive game.
The senior defensive lineman made his way into North Little Rock's backfield Friday night and sacked quarterback Corvasea Cooney on a fourth-down play with 1:59 remaining and helped secure the Tigers' 28-21 victory over the Charging Wildcats in the Class 7A state playoff quarterfinals at Tiger Stadium.
The victory moved Bentonville (10-1) into the semifinal round and another home game against Fayetteville, which defeated Bryant 30-24. The two 7A-West Conference rivals met two weeks ago in Fayetteville, when Fernandez intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown to clinch Bentonville's 37-26 victory.
"The swim move on them really hadn't been working," Fernandez said. "I lined up in a tight-five, thinking I could get in on an inside-out move. That's kind of what happened. I got them on the inside-out move and rushed upfield. I saw the quarterback come up, and one of our players came and hit him. Then I came off and finished it."
Bentonville had a 28-7 halftime lead before North Little Rock (7-5) made its comeback behind a power running game. Cooney scored from a yard out with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter, then Darius Austin's 1-yard touchdown run closed the gap to 28-21 with 10:42 remaining.
The Charging Wildcats took over on their 39 following a punt and drove to the Bentonville 14 before the Tigers' defense took over. Linebacker David Nichols dropped tailback Alex Day for a yard loss on second down, then his hit on Tyrell Robinson caused an incomplete pass on the next play to set up Fernandez and his sack.
"We've faced adversity all year long," North Little Rock Coach Jamie Mitchell said. "Our guys, they're not going to quit. That's not in them, and that's after a disastrous first half where about anything could go wrong.
"You just can't take a quarterback sack in that situation. You have to throw the ball, and that's tough. It's just not our game, but when it's fourth and 10 you don't have much choice."
Logan Darby took the opening kickoff and returned it 85 yards for a Bentonville touchdown with 13 seconds off the clock. He put the Tigers on the scoreboard again when he broke behind the defense on their second offensive play and hauled in Kasey Ford's pass for a 57-yard touchdown after North Little Rock tied it on Austin's 2-yard touchdown run.
Ford scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter and hit Clay Barganier with a 2-yard touchdown pass with 8:55 before halftime for the 28-7 cushion. The last score came two plays after a bad snap on a punt gave the Tigers the ball with first and goal at the North Little Rock 6.
"It was a tale of two halves," Bentonville Coach Jody Grant said. "I felt we played really good in the first half. In the second half, I thought if we could get a stop and get the ball to our offense we could get this thing out of hand.
"The turnover hurt us, and North Little Rock got some momentum. It was a battle to the end."
Sports on 11/21/2015