BENTONVILLE -- Jackson Prince had his back to the pylon that was nestled at the goal line and didn't realize he had a touchdown pass until the official signaled it.
The Bentonville West senior receiver hauled in a 25-yard catch from Will Jarrett to break a 28-28 tie, and the Wolverines remained unbeaten with a 38-28 victory over Fayetteville during 7A-West Conference action Friday at Tiger Stadium.
Bentonville West 38, Fayetteville 28
Fayetteville^7^7^0^14^—^28
West^7^13^8^10^—^38
First quarter
West — Higson 15 pass from Jarrett (McDoulett kick), 6:26.
Fay — Gray 15 pass from Bowers (Richardson kick), 2:34.
Second quarter
West — FG McDoulett 38, 11:56.
Fay — Flannigan 73 pass from Bowers (Richardson kick), 11:41.
West — Jarrett 9 run (McDoulett kick), 2:35.
West — FG McDoulett 43, 0:00.
Third quarter
West — Jarrett 14 run (Jarrett pass to Swoboda), 8:03.
Fourth quarter
Fay — Bowers 3 run (Richardson kick), 11:06.
Fay — Mulinga 15 pass from Bowers (Richardson kick), 9:20.
West — Prince 25 pass from Jarrett (McDoulett kick), 7:19.
West — FG McDoulett 41, 3:53.
"This means so much to us," Prince said. "This was the big game that we could really hang our hats on.
"It was crazy at first. I was wrestling for the ball, then I look up and see the ref signal touchdown. That's when I went crazy."
West (5-0, 2-0) entered the fourth quarter with a 28-14 cushion, but that disappeared in less than 3 minutes. Fayetteville quarterback Darius Bowers scrambled 5 yards for a touchdown with 11 minutes, 6 seconds remaining, then tied the game on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kris Mulinga just three plays after the Bulldogs took over on the Wolverines 29 following a 25-yard punt.
West, however, responded with a seven-play drive and covered 79 yards to take the lead for good. Jarrett fired down the left sideline for Prince, who caught the ball despite being heavily covered, and Blake McDoulett's extra point put the Wolverines ahead 35-28 with 7:19 left to play.
"We just met them in the huddle and told them 'this is why we work so hard," West coach Bryan Pratt said. "This is the reason why we go out and make plays. We had to make a play, and it's huge when the kids just bow up and do it.
"The catch Prince made in the end zone was pretty nice, and that's what makes us a good football team. It's not just Jadon Jackson or Will Jarrett. There are about five or six guys out there, then on defense we make play after play when we had to."
One of those players to shine in the clutch was defensive back Slade Pearson. He cut in front of Cody Gray to knock down a third-down pass on Fayetteville's ensuing possession, then he partially blocked Huxley Richardson's punt attempt on the next play and gave West the ball on the Bulldogs 36 with 6:49 remaining.
The Wolverines then ran six plays and took almost 3 minutes off the clock. McDoulett, the tiny junior kicker who had already connected on field goals of 38 and 43 yards and gave West a 20-14 halftime lead, nailed a 41-yard kick to make it 38-28 with 3:53 remaining.
"Fayetteville is a team that's had some bad breaks," Pratt said. "And we're happy to get those good breaks. It was a signature win for us.
"I look at it and thought a few times we should have capitalized and had it up 35-14 and maybe make it a different game. The more I look at it, though, I like the way our team rallied when we were tied up and had to make a play."
Sports on 09/30/2017