SPRINGDALE -- Bentonville High had to go the full 40 yards to break a tie, and only 40.5 seconds to pull off the feat.
The Tigers did it with little room to spare. Easton Hughes and Dylan Smith connected for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 0.9 seconds remaining, and Bentonville claimed a 29-23 victory over Shiloh Christian to close out Friday's pool play during the Southwest Elite 7on7 Showcase at Champions Stadium.
"That's what you love about these 7-on-7s," Bentonville coach Jody Grant said. "It gives your offense an opportunity to be in 2-minute situations. We were under a minute left and had a timeout, and we had to go score to get a win.
"You try to put your kids in situations like that so they've done it before Friday night. We were fortunate to get that opportunity."
Hughes had thrown the full 40 yards for a trio of touchdown passes earlier in the game, including his bomb to Harrison Campbell as Bentonville bounced back from a 17-7 deficit to take a 23-17 lead with under 5 minutes to play. Shiloh Christian, however, responded with an eight-play drive and tied the game on Eli Reese's 8-yard touchdown pass to Truitt Tollett, but the Saints couldn't complete the 5-yard pass for the one-point conversion and the lead.
Bentonville caught a break when a defensive holding penalty negated a play when Hughes was called for holding the ball more than the 4-second time limit in which a quarterback had to throw the ball after it was snapped. That gave the Tigers a second-and-10 play instead of a third-and-15 situation, and Bentonville later converted a first down before Hughes hit Smith with the game-winner.
Shiloh Christian was left with time for one last play, but Reece's long throw was well out of reach of his receiver as time expired.
"Both teams competed hard, and it came down to the last drive," Saints coach Jeff Conaway said. "It was a fun game. I hate the way it ended, but we're trying to compete and get better. I think that was the case.
"It was a good drive on Bentonville's part. I wished our defense made one more play and found a way to finish that, especially on a third down. They had a third-down conversion that was tough. If we could have got them off the field there, that game could have turned out differently."
The Southwest Elite 7on7 Showcase turns to tournament play today as Bentonville will open against Springdale Har-Ber's JV team, while Shiloh Christian will take on Fort Smith Northside.
EXTRA POINTS: Bentonville finished pool play with a 5-2 mark, with its only losses coming against a pair of Oklahoma schools -- Midwest City and Owasso. ... Bentonville and Midwest City will open the regular season against each other Aug. 25 at Tiger Stadium as part of a doubleheader. ... Shiloh Christian dropped its last three games and finished pool play with a 3-5 mark. ... Midwest City won all seven of its games to earn the top seed in Pool A. ... Owasso, coached by former Fayetteville coach Bill Blankenship, is the second seed from Pool A and has already advanced to the tournament's second round as Har-Ber's sophomore team has withdrawn.
At A Glance
Southwest Elite 7on7 Showcase
At Shiloh Christian
Morning Session
Walmart Field
Shiloh Christian 38, Oologah, Okla. 8
Bentonville High 27, Russellville 9
Midwest City, Okla. 27, Bentonville 12
Russellville 38, Highland 8
Gibson Southern 31, Springfield Glendale JV 10
Shiloh Christian 32, Russellville 24
Chick-Fil-A Field
Midwest City, Okla. 34, Springfield (Mo.) Glendale JV 0
Fort Branch (Ind.) Gibson Southern 27, Highland 10
Owasso, Okla. 34, Shiloh Christian 20
Oologah 19, Springfield Glendale JV 14
Midwest City 28, Owasso 13
Bentonville 37, Highland 15
Afternoon Session
Walmart Field
Bentonville 28, Gibson Southern 23
Midwest City 19, Shiloh Christian 16
Russellville 18, Oologah 17
Shiloh Christian 34, Highland 4
Midwest City 29, Oologah 11
Gibson Southern 34, Shiloh Christian 18
Midwest City 29, Gibson Southern 15
Bentonville 29, Shiloh Christian 23
Owasso 25, Highland 13
Chick-Fil-A Field
Owasso 22, Oologah 10
Russellville 33, Springfield Glendale JV 9
Bentonville 24, Springfield Glendale JV 14
Owasso 26, Gibson Southern 24
Highland 19, Springfield Glendale JV 14
Owasso 24, Bentonville 17
Oologah 26, Highland 8
Owasso 27, Russellville 6
Springfield Glendale JV 28, Shiloh Christian 10
Gibson Southern 23, Oologah 20
Midwest City 18, Russellville 16
Preps Basketball on 07/14/2018