PRAIRIE GROVE -- Surrounded by a sea of black and gold, Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier kept his promise.
Abshier delivered an impromptu Ne Ne dance as his players whooped and hollered their approval.
4A-1 Conference
Shiloh Christian^14^13^6^0—^33
Prairie Grove^24^22^16^0^—^62
First Quarter
Prair — Faulk 64 pass from Dodd (Faulk run), 11:06.
Prair — Orr 56 pass from Dodd (Faulk run), 6:53.
Shiloh — Berus 1 run (pass failed), 3:38.
Prair — Disney 85 kickoff return (Walker run), 3:22.
Shiloh — Nelson 30 pass from Reece (Roth pass to Reece), :09
Second Quarter
Prair — Faulk 39 run (pass failed), 11:52.
Shiloh — Carruthers 15 run (run failed), 10:09.
Shiloh — Walker 47 pass from Reece (Boo kick), 10:00.
Prair — Faulk 22 run (Dodd pass to Soehner), 7:00.
Prair — Heltemes 9 run (Dodd pass to Orr), 1:02.
Third Quarter
Prair — Soehner 45 pass from Dodd (Dodd pass to Fidler), 7:01.
Prair — Faulk 16 run (Walker run), 5:08.
Shiloh — Fulgham 57 pass from Reece (run failed), 2:19.
"I'd give it about a 1," Prairie Grove running back Blake Faulk said.
Abshier didn't have to do the Whip ... his players did plenty of that on their own.
In a battle of 4A-1 Conference heavyweights, this one was about as one-sided as a Ronda Rousey match. Prairie Grove dominated every facet en route to a 62-33 win over Shiloh Christian on Friday night in Tiger Stadium.
Prairie Grove (5-1, 3-0 4A-1) used two late second quarter touchdowns to seize control of the game and invoked the mercy rule in the third quarter. Faulk played a huge role in the blowout, rushing for 149 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns, and adding two catches for 74 yards and another score.
The Tigers set the tone on the game's second play as quarterback Sam Dodd found Faulk down the seam for a 64-yard touchdown strike. Faulk added the two-point conversion to give Prairie Grove a quick 8-0 lead with 11 minutes, 6 seconds left in the first quarter.
"We worked on that play all week," Faulk said. "It's called Up 59, and we had a lot of confidence going in, but we didn't know coach was going to run it that quick. But scoring that fast, starting the game off that fast with a quick touchdown, made us feel more confident and ready to go."
Prairie Grove used big plays all night. After Faulk's score, the Tigers struck again quickly as Dodd hit Reed Orr on a 56-yard screen pass on third and long and Faulk's second conversion run made it a 16-0 game.
"Those plays were huge," Abshier said. "We were going to try and kill the clock because (Shiloh Christian) can score so fast. Obviously, we can score pretty quick, too. We were just going to try and run it, run it, run it and see if we can't find a crease, and the guys did a great job carrying it out tonight."
Prairie Grove led 30-14 just eight seconds into the second quarter, but Shiloh Christian (3-2, 2-1) showed quick-strike ability as well. John Marcus Carruthers found the end zone on a 15-yard run, then after Shiloh Christian recovered an onside kick, quarterback Connor Reece hit Tion Walker on the next play for a 47-yard touchdown and suddenly the Saints were within 30-27 10 minutes left in the half.
It didn't get any closer. Prairie Grove drove 65 yards, capped by Faulk's 22-yard scoring run, then the Tigers came up with a huge stop as Dakota Woods tackled Reece on fourth and five near midfield, setting up another scoring drive as Gavin Heltemes scored from nine yards out and a 46-27 halftime lead.
"Getting the ball back and us driving down the field to score, that put them away," Orr said.
Prairie Grove's Cole McClellan came up with the first of three second-half interceptions for the Tigers on Shiloh Christian's opening possession of the third quarter. Six plays later Dodd hit big senior tight end Dylan Soehner on a 45-yard scoring pass and the rout was on.
After another Shiloh Christian interception, Faulk capped a short drive with his fourth touchdown of the night as Prairie Grove invoked the mercy rule with 5:06 left in the third quarter.
Sports on 10/10/2015