PRYOR, Okla. -- Bentonville West may be the new kid on the block in the 7A-West Conference, but Coach Bryan Pratt is determined not to baby his players anymore.
The Wolverines were roughed up by Pryor's physical run game in the the second half Friday night, and West's inaugural game resulted in a 33-12 loss at Tiger Stadium.
The Tigers accumulated 172 of their 301 yards on the ground in the second half and wore down the Wolverines. Cole Thompson, who didn't have a rushing attempt in the first half, entered the game and ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
"I'm extremely disappointed," Pratt said. "You can say we have young kids, but I didn't see kids playing the way I wanted to play. After the way they've been coached to play, I'm really disappointed.
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"I know we're a young football team, but we're not using it as an excuse. We have to be able to step up and make plays and do little things right. We didn't practice like that, and you practice like you play."
Pryor, which led 16-12 at halftime, took the second-half kickoff and milked more than eight minutes off the clock before a penalty and Michael Toney's sack of quarterback Gaige Mendivil stalled the drive. Will Considine then hit a 31-yard field goal to make the score 19-12 with 3:36 left in the third quarter.
West quickly drove inside the Pryor 30 before Will Jarrett threw his second interception, and Max Jordan returned it 67 yards into Wolverines territory. Thompson scored on a 9-yard run to begin the fourth quarter, then added a 31-yard touchdown run after Pryor foiled a West fake punt attempt.
"That interception was a big turning point," Pryor Coach Jeramy Branchcomb said. "After that, we had the momentum the rest of the night. It was a big play.
"We wanted to be more physical, and that was our goal since the start of practice Monday. We're older and more experienced, and that kind of running is what we do anyway. We felt that it was our best chance."
Pryor jumped out to an 8-0 lead on Mendivil's 45-yard touchdown run, but West cut it to 8-6 when Jarrett hit Jadon Jackson with a 9-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter. The Wolverines had a chance to take a lead when Tyrae Medlock intercepted a pass and returned it to the Tigers' 41, and Pratt decided to take the chance.
Jarrett tried to hit Jackson again, but the pass went through his hands at the goal line and was picked off by Mendivil. Pryor added Elijah Jarboe's 5-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion run off a swinging gate play to Austin LaFave, but West drove 93 yards in 10 plays and scored on Jarrett's 17-yard pass to Jackson as time expired in the first half.
Sports on 09/03/2016