Football: Springdale Har-Ber roughs up Bentonville West

Springdale Har-Ber fullback Clayton Kunkle stretches across the goal line for a touchdown as Bentonville West’s Slade Pearson (15) attempts to prevent the score Friday at Tiger Stadium in Bentonville.
Springdale Har-Ber fullback Clayton Kunkle stretches across the goal line for a touchdown as Bentonville West’s Slade Pearson (15) attempts to prevent the score Friday at Tiger Stadium in Bentonville.

BENTONVILLE -- Payton Copher went for the big play on Springdale Har-Ber's opening possession, only to have Stefan Banda grab an interception near the goal line.

[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD: Full results + recaps, photos and more]

The Wildcats quarterback made the most of his other opportunities Friday night as he threw touchdown passes to three different receivers in the first half, and Har-Ber remained unbeaten in 7A-West Conference play with a 45-0 victory over Bentonville West at Tiger Stadium.

Springdale Har-Ber 45, Bentonville West 0

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West^0^0^0^0^—^0

First quarter

Har — Sikes 6 run (Zizumbo kick), 5:10.

Har — Thomas 47 pass from Copher (Zizumbo kick), 3:22.

Second quarter

Har — Kunkle 20 pass from Copher (Zizumbo kick), 10:21.

Har — FG Zizumbo 37, 8:13.

Har — Smith 31 pass from Copher (Zizumbo kick), 3:19.

Har — Eckwood 58 interception return (Zizumbo kick), 2:26.

Third quarter

Har — Long 12 fumble recovery (Rodriquez kick), 4:45.

"I think I was overthinking it," said Copher, who completed just 4 of 10 passes for 106 yards. "I came off the read too early, then went back to it and underthrew it. I was a little anxious on the first play because I wanted to score, and I had to calm myself down."

"I'm a super-competitive guy. I hate throwing interceptions, losing the ball and stuff like that. It fuels my fire when I turn the ball over because it's something I don't want to do. I want to help this team win, and turnovers won't help."

Copher's next pass hit Matt Thomas in stride for 47 yards and the score on a fourth-down play with 3 minutes, 22 seconds left in the first quarter, then he helped the Wildcats (6-1, 3-0) pour it on with 24 points in the second quarter. He connected with Clayton Kunkle with a 20-yard touchdown pass, then added another 31-yard scoring strike to Trey Smith despite good coverage by Jadon Jackson.

Connor Sikes, who had 121 yards on 10 carries, added a 6-yard touchdown run to start Har-Ber's first-half scoring, and Tevin Eckwood put the sportsmanship rule into play with his 58-yard interception return for a score, giving the Wildcats a 38-0 halftime cushion.

"We wanted to try to stretch the field vertically, and Bentonville West did a good job on the pick," Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. "I thought our defense flew around and forced a lot of turnovers. Offensively, we were a little sloppy but we were able to get the job done.

"The kids flew around the football and kept everything in front of them. We tried to be physical the best we could, and we did a good job."

West (2-5, 2-2) moved the ball from its 3 to the Har-Ber 36 before a bad snap eventually led to a punt, and the Wolverines never threatened again in the first half. West didn't threaten again and became its worst enemy, courtesy of four turnovers.

One play after West's defense made a fourth-down stand and took the ball over, the Wolverines fumbled on the next play, which led to Har-Ber's third touchdown. In addition to Eckwood's interception return, Har-Ber's defense capped the scoring with Payton Long's 12-yard fumble recovery in the third quarter.

"It's really frustrating that you keep having bad things happen to you," West coach Bryan Pratt said. "We can be a really good football team and move the ball, and all of a sudden you have a bad snap over your head or a dropped ball or a missed tackle here and there.

"Overall, I thought we grew up a little bit, but it's just going to take a little while," he added. "That's the difference between 16-year-olds and 18-year-olds. There's a difference in the maturity level. In the three games where the final score is like this, we've been eaten up with turnovers."

Sports on 10/15/2016

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