BENTONVILLE -- Bentonville West sputtered a bit in the first half, but quarterback Will Jarrett keyed a big third quarter to help the Wolverines roll past Pryor, Okla., 49-13 in the season opener for both teams.
Jarrett threw for five touchdowns, including connecting with three receivers for scores in a 28-point third quarter that put the game away. The junior completed 13 of 19 passes for 320 yards and ran for 43 yards and another score.
Nonconference
Bentonville West 49, Pryor, Okla. 13
Pryor, Okla.^14^7^28^0^—^49
Bentonville West^0^6^0^7^—^13
First Quarter
West-Prince 8 pass from Jarrett (McDoulet kick), 10:31.
West-Jarrett 1 run (McDoulet kick), 2:33.
Second Quarter
Pryor-Considine 1 run (run failed), 9:03.
West-Higson 20 pass from Jarrett (McDoulet kick), 1:28.
Third Quarter
West-Prince 20 pass from Jarrett (McDoulet kick), 11:21.
West Banda 6 pass from Jarrett (McDoulet kick), 8:23.
West-Jackson 41 pass from Jarrett (McDoulet kick), 4:51.
West-Smallwood recovers bad snap in the end zone (McDoulet kick), 2:01.
Fourth Quarter
Pryor-McCrate 1 run (Considine kick), 6:50.
West coach Bryan Pratt said his team's issues in the first half were more self-inflicted but was still pleased with the Wolverines' play -- particularly that of Jarrett and the receiving corps.
"That's kind of our whole philosophy," Pratt said. "We have a lot of guys we can get the ball to. You can't just stop one of them because the other ones are there.
"We felt like felt like we executed when we went up at halftime. We look at our call sheet and everything we ran was successful. We just hurt ourself with fumbles or bad throws, et cetera. Our kids played well. As a coach you're always looking at something. You can't win big games fumbling and you can't win big games giving up fourth-and-18s. So we've got some things to work on."
Jarrett finished off each of the first three drives of the third quarter with a touchdown pass. He connected for Jackson Prince for a 20-yard strike, found Stefan Banda for a 6-yarder and hit Jadon Jackson with a swing pass that turned into a 41-yard touchdown. The Wolverines also recovered a high snap on a punt in the end zone for another touchdown for a 49-6 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Pryor coach Jeramy Branchcomb credited West, but also said his team definitely wore down in the second half and didn't help itself with eight first-half penalties.
"They gave us all the chances in the world and we had some bad penalties early," Branchcomb said. "I think we were kinda shell-shocked early. Far away from home, a big crowd and a big team. I think depth kinda took over late in the game. They're a good football team and they've got some of the best kids we're going to see all year."
Jarrett, who also fumbled into the end zone earlier in first half, gave the Wolverines momentum in the final two minutes of the second quarter. The junior found sophomore Jonas Higdon on a hitch-and-go in the corner of the end zone to give West a 21-6 advantage on a one-play scoring drive that was set up a short Pryor punt.
West didn't take long to score on its opening drive either, covering 41 yards on just two plays to grab the early lead. Jarrett found Jackson with a swing pass and he got free down the sideline for a 33-yard gain to the Pryor 8. Jarrett then hooked up with Prince for an 8-yard scoring strike with 10:31 left in the opening quarter.
Sports on 09/02/2017