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.
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But 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.
"I think I was overthinking it," Copher said of the interception. "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 supercompetitive 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 a score on a fourth-down play with 3:22 left in the first quarter, then he helped the Wildcats (6-1, 4-0 7A-West) pour it on with 24 points in the second quarter.
Copher completed just 4 of 10 passes for 106 yards and the 3 touchdowns.
He connected with Clayton Kunkle on a 20-yard touchdown pass, then added another 31-yard touchdown strike to Trey Smith.
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."
West (2-5, 2-2) moved the ball from its 3 to the Har-Ber 36 before a bad snap led to a punt, and the Wolverines never threatened again in the first half. West committed four turnovers.
In addition to Eckwood's interception return, Har-Ber's defense scored on 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. 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