BENTONVILLE -- Ty Simsheuser intercepted a tipped pass in overtime to lead Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst to a 24-21 overtime victory over Bentonville on Friday in Tiger Stadium.
Rockhurst (3-0) got a 23-yard field goal from Eric Angrisano to end its overtime possession, giving the Hawklets a 24-21 lead.
The Tigers (0-1) started their overtime possession at the 10-yard line but were backed up to the 20 with back-to-back 5-yard penalties before they ever took a snap. The first penalty was a delay-of-game infraction, something that plagued the Tigers throughout the game.
"We had a lot of first game issues, way more than I intended," Bentonville Coach Jody Grant said. "Obviously that's something that we're going to have to get cleaned up. That's unacceptable. That's something we as coaches will have to do a better job of."
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On first down, Tigers quarterback Cannan Ross' pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and Simsheuser hauled it in to end the game.
The game was tied at 21-21 at the end of regulation as Bentonville's defense made plays when it had to down the stretch to keep Rockhurst from winning in regulation.
With under three minutes left, the Hawklets took over at midfield, but the Tigers came up with key stops by Tyrell Lyons, Kam'Ron Mays-Hunt and a host of others to force the overtime.
Rockhurst Coach Tony Severino said his team played with a lot of heart.
"Every time we got down, they just kept fighting back," Severino said. "They were just very resilient."
Rockhurst quarterback Chance May was almost flawless in the second half, completing his first 10 passes. Time and again the senior quarterback came up with key completions to keep drives alive.
"His arm had been sore going into the week, then we rested it," Severino said. "He was on target yesterday in practice. he threw better yesterday in practice than he's thrown all year. There were some things they were giving us and we didn't make many mistakes."
May opened the game with a 79-yard touchdown pass to Cole Beshoner on a play that caught Bentonville out of position and a 7-0 lead with 6:54 left in the first quarter.
Bentonville answered back as with an 80-yard drive that featured a balance of run and pass. Jacob Clark found the end zone on an 8-yard run to tie the game at 7-7 and it was close the rest of the way.
Bentonville twice had leads of 14-7 and 21-14, but it could not hold the Hawklets down as several times the Tigers were flagged for pass interference penalties that kept Rockhurst drives alive.
"We had a lot of interference penalties that were called," Grant said. "We thought we would have a great stop with great coverage, and all the sudden you see a flag on the ground. That's part of the game, and we have to be able to overcome that."
Sports on 09/03/2016