FAYETTEVILLE -- The names have changed, but the stakes are always the same when Bentonville and Fayetteville meet on the football field.
On Friday, it was all Bentonville as the undefeated Tigers dominated en route to a 55-14 win in the 7A-West clash in Harmon Stadium.
Bentonville 55, Fayetteville 14
Bentonville^14^13^14^14^—^55
Fayetteville^7^7^0^0^—^14
First Quarter
Bent — Joyce 1 run (Turner kick), 5:58.
Fay — Sategna 80 pass from Gibbs (Richardson kick), 4:32.
Bent — Pankau 31 run (Turner kick), 1:51.
Second Quarter
Fay — McClain 12 run (Richardson kick), 6:50.
Bent — Crawford 3 run (Kick failed), 4:41.
Bent — Kinsey 42 pass from Pankau (Turner kick), 1:16.
Third Quarter
Bent — Crawford 2 run (Turner kick), 9:42.
Bent — Crawford 47 run (Turner kick), :46.
Fourth Quarter
Bent — Ried 3 run (Turner kick), 10:37.
Bent — Ried 3 run (Turner kick), 4:50.
The Tigers (7-0, 4-0 7A-West) used a rare turnover to take over the momentum late in the second quarter and ran-off 41 straight points, finally invoking the 35-point sportsmanship rule with 4 minutes, 50 seconds left in the game.
"At the time that was huge," said Bentonville football coach Jody Grant of the muffed punt. "At the time we were in a dogfight with a team that was playing with a lot of confidence. It was crucial. At that point is when we kind of got things going a little bit, and once we got it rolling, then we were able to take the lead and go from there."
The two teams traded early blows with Bentonville taking the lead first, driving 69 yards in 9 plays on its opening possession. Quarterback Ben Pankau completed three passes on the drive and Preston Crawford had several key runs before Cole Joyce capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown with 5 minutes, 58 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Fayetteville (3-4, 2-2) responded quickly. On third-and-10 from its own 20, Bulldogs quarterback Hank Gibbs hit receiver Isaiah Satenga in stride near midfield and the track star did the rest, going 80 yards to the end zone to knot the game at 7-7.
Pankau, who rushed for 136 yards for the Tigers, directed another long scoring drive, this time covering 67 yards. Half of that Pankau covered himself, going 31 yards for the score and a 14-7 Bentonville lead.
Fayetteville answered midway through the second quarter, taking advantage of a short field after the Bulldogs' defense pushed Bentonville back inside its own 10-yard line. Jacob Sharits powered the drive with an 18-yard run, and Quinn McClain finished it with a 12-yard touchdown run to even the score at 14-14.
The Bulldogs' defense again came up with a big series, holding the Tigers on a third-and-seven, setting up a punt. But Fayetteville returner Connor Flannigan tried to come up and field the bouncing ball on the hop and mishandled it. Bentonville recovered the fumble at the Bulldogs' 32.
"Connor has made big-time plays for us so many times, and we'll love on him," Fayetteville coach Casey Dick said of his star receiver. "He'll continue to be a big-time player for us, but we have to do a better job of getting him involved and back on track. It was a momentum play, but that's football. You have to be able to respond."
The Tigers cashed in two plays later as Crawford ran for 29 yards on first down and scored one play later from three yards out. The Tigers missed the extra point, but the 20-14 margin quickly grew.
Pankau hit tight end Jackson Kinsey on a 42-yard pass after a double handoff with 1:16 left in the first half, then made it a three-touchdown game by taking the opening possession of the second half and marching 64 yards in seven plays with Crawford playing a major role. Pankau twice hit the senior back on completions of 24 and 14 yards, then Crawford crashed on from the 1 to give the Tigers a 34-14 lead.
Crawford later added a 47-yard touchdown run and Colby Ried added two fourth-quarter scores for the Tigers.
Four Downs
• Crawford finished the night with 113 yards on 14 carries and added 3 catches for 60 yards for the Tigers.
• Gibbs was13 of 27 passing for 208 yards and one touchdown for the Bulldogs.
• Satenga had 5 catches for 160 yards. Besides his 80-yard score, he added a 50-yard reception.
• Bentonville will travel to Rogers High in a renewal of one of Benton County's oldest rivalries. Fayetteville will travel to Springdale High in the annual Battle of the Dogs.
Sports on 10/19/2019