Bentonville tops Fayetteville again

Bentonville’s Collin Honeycutt (82) loses his helmet as he pulls down Fayetteville quarterback Taylor Powell during Friday night’s game at Fayetteville.
Bentonville’s Collin Honeycutt (82) loses his helmet as he pulls down Fayetteville quarterback Taylor Powell during Friday night’s game at Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The more things change, the more things stay the same.

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

Bentonville won its 11th consecutive regular-season meeting against Fayetteville on Friday, holding the Bulldogs to one score in the second half to pull out a 24-21 victory at Harmon Stadium.

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Bentonville wide receiver Kam’ron Mays-Hunt (left) outruns the Fayetteville defense to the end zone during the Tigers’ 24-21 victory.

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Fayetteville running back Terrance Rock (9) is brought down by a trio of Bentonville defenders Friday in Fayetteville.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in the state, were plagued by costly turnovers and untimely penalties. Bentonville stuck to what has worked in every regular-season showdown with the Bulldogs since 2006.

Bentonville (3-1, 1-0 7A-West) got 100 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 20 carries from senior Jacob Clark. Quarterback Canaan Ross hit Kam'Ron Mays-Hunt with a go-ahead 65-yard touchdown down the sidelines on the final play of the first quarter. Mayes finished 12-of-24 passing for 139 yards.

The Tigers defense gave Fayetteville fits as well, sacking quarterback Taylor Powell five times while constantly coming up with strong coverage against the Bulldogs.

"That's a very talented offense we played," Bentonville Coach Jody Grant said. "We just kind of challenged our defense to go out there and get after them, and they did that.

"Our goal was to be a ball-control offense as much as we could and keep Fayetteville off the field. Jacob Clark did a heck of a job. He's a heck of a running back and our quarterback operated a little bit. So our guys executed the plan as we asked."

Fayetteville (3-1, 0-1) started strong, taking a 7-0 lead with a 16-play, 80-yard drive on the first series of the game, which was capped by a Powell to Barrett Banister 21-yard touchdown pass on fourth and 9 with 6:44 left in the first quarter. But scoring would be a chore the rest of the way for the Bulldogs.

After Bentonville took a 21-14 lead into halftime, the game turned into a defensive struggle. Fayetteville had a 13-yard potential game-tying run by Terrance Rock called back by a holding penalty early in the fourth quarter.

"[Bentonville] played a lot smarter and lot more error-free," Fayetteville Coach Bill Blankenship said. "For whatever reason, we did not play the way we have to play to win these type of games.

"They did what we practiced against, and they did a good job of making us earn it. But mainly it was self-inflicted wounds. I thought we played better in the second half, but we still did not make the plays we had to."

Rock finished with 133 yards on 21 carries and had 4 catches for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns for Fayetteville. But the Bulldogs could not come up with their first victory since 2005 over the Tigers.

"This is our concern right now," Grant said. "Bentonville-Fayetteville is as big a matchup as there is, and that's our intentions for it to be that way.

"We know Fayetteville is always going to be a contender, and we plan on being one as well, so Bentonville-Fayetteville will always be a big matchup and it was another big one tonight."

Bentonville hosts Van Buren on Friday, and Fayetteville remains at home to play host to Bentonville West.

Sports on 09/24/2016

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