CENTERTON -- Bryan Pratt was about to call a timeout and punt the ball away when a Rogers High penalty changed his mind.
Bentonville West used the extra yardage to go for it on fourth down, and Tyrese Smallwood made it work with a 42-yard touchdown run as the Wolverines celebrated their first homecoming at Wolverine Stadium with a 41-14 victory over the Mounties in 7A-West Conference action.
BENTONVILLE WEST 41, ROGERS HIGH 14
Rogers 0 0 7 7 — 14
West 14 21 0 6 — 41
First Quarter
West — Dyson 9 pass from McDonald (Travis kick), 9:52.
West — Smallwood 42 run (Travis kick), 5:38.
Second Quarter
West — Dyson 50 pass from McDonald (Travis kick), 10:52.
West — Smallwood 54 run (Travis kick), 7:57.
West — Smallwood 11 run (Travis kick), :27.6.
Third Quarter
Rogers — Ross 12 pass from Loyd (Vasquez kick), 6:49.
Fourth Quarter
West — Smallwood 12 pass from McDonald (kick blocked), 10:42.
Rogers — Bray 5 pass from Loyd (Vasquez kick0, 1:49.
"I actually plugged them twice," said Pratt, who also earned his 100th career victory. "When they gave us a fourth-and-3, I feel like we can convert that. We were punting into the wind, and I didn't think we would get that much out of it.
"When you go from fourth-and-8 to fourth-and-3, it changes a little bit. We get a big run by 'Rese, and I was proud of our offensive line. We continue to take what people give us, and it's not always getting the ball to Jadon Jackson. We feel comfortable running it, throwing it -- whatever."
West (3-3, 3-0) had already taken a 7-0 lead after Dalton McDonald's 9-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Dyson, then the Wolverines had a fourth-and-8 situation from the Rogers 47 on their next drive. After the Mounties were called for offsides, Smallwood -- who said he told Pratt to give him the ball on the play -- bolted around the right end and scored with 5 minutes, 38 seconds left in the first quarter.
It was the first of four touchdowns for the senior tailback, who compiled 178 of his 185 rushing yards in the first half. He later ran for 54 yards for a touchdown on a play where he outmaneuvered a pair of Rogers defensive backs in open field, then he added an 11-yard touchdown run with 27.6 seconds before half and gave the Wolverines a 35-0 cushion.
"The holes were there, and the offensive line did a good job," Smallwood said. "The wide receivers were good on one-on-one blocking, and I want to thank my team for it.
"On the first touchdown, the hole was there, but I saw something else and bounced the other way. On the second one, I knew I couldn't outrun them, so I stutter-stepped a little bit and went inside. I was going to cut across the field, but I was too tired for that. I was just going to make them miss and go score."
Sophomore quarterback Dalton McDonald added to West's 453-yard performance as he completed 16 of 24 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns, including another 50-yard score to Dyson early in the second quarter. He then completed the scoring when he hit Smallwood on another fourth-down play, this one from 12 yards out in the third quarter.
Hunter Loyd put Rogers on the scoreboard with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Mason Ross midway through the third quarter, then he added a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jace Bray late in the fourth quarter. He finished with 238 yards on 25-of-42 passing, with Wil Sims catching nine passes for 76 yards and Ross adding 91 yards on eight catches.
"This week, I think some of our players forgot how to tackle," Rogers coach Mike Loyd said. "Tackling is an effort thing, and I didn't see a whole lot of effort by a few people, but a few of my sophomores and some juniors at the end played hard.
"We did some good things offensively, but they have a really good offense. I think we helped them out a little bit, but they played well."
Sports on 10/06/2018