FARMINGTON -- Farmington's cheerleaders chanted, "It's our highway," in the final seconds of Friday's game, but they could've started it near the end of the first half when Prairie Grove imploded.
Farmington scored two touchdowns and a field goal with under one minute to play before halftime and routed the Tigers 56-27 in a nonconference game at the Farmington Sports Complex. Prairie Grove will join its longtime rival in the 5A-West Conference next year in the annual "Battle of Highway 62" for the 2022-24 reclassification cycle.
Sophomore quarterback Cameron Vanzant ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more for the Cardinals (2-0). Kanye Taylor added a 43-yard touchdown run in the final seconds against Prairie Grove, which played its first game of the year.
The 56-point outburst followed a 40-21 victory for Farmington in its season opener last week at Rogers Heritage.
"We're a team that practices hard every day, and this right here just shows what we can do," Vanzant said. "We can put more points on the board. That's all I can say."
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The game was tight until the final minute in the first half when Farmington broke the game open with help from Prairie Grove, which failed to cover a punt that gave the Cardinals possession at the 4.
Farmington broke a 14-14 tie when running back Caden Elsik slipped out of the backfield and caught a 30-yard pass down the home sideline for a touchdown. Then came the flurry when Farmington scored two touchdowns and added a field goal to take a 37-14 lead.
Devonte Donovan, who dropped a long pass behind the defense earlier in the game, went high in the back of the end zone to snatch a 20-yard touchdown pass from Vanzant with one minute left in the second quarter.
Farmington got the ball right back when Prairie Grove failed to cover a long kickoff, and Myles Harvey scored to put the Cardinals ahead 34-14. The Farmington defense forced a punt before the Cardinals took over and increased their lead to 37-14 on a line drive 35-yard field goal by Luis Zavala.
"I felt really good about how we were able to finish out that first half," Farmington Coach J.R. Eldridge said. "I'm just so thankful we've got a bunch of guys who are willing to fight."
The first half featured a fumble return for a touchdown by Farmington and two long touchdown runs by Prairie Grove. Prairie Grove fumbled on its first offensive drive, and Zach Ralston returned it for a touchdown seven seconds into the game.
Prairie Grove (0-1) regrouped to take a 14-7 lead on touchdown runs of 75 yards by Colin Faulk and 77 yards from Conner Whetsell. But that was all the scoring for Prairie Grove until the third quarter when Ethan Miller returned a fumble 61 yards to pull the Tigers to within 37-20 after a blocked extra point. Farmington added a touchdown before Whetsell scored on an 83-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes left in the third quarter.
Farmington will play at Springdale on Friday while Prairie Grove plays at Pea Ridge in another matchup of a future 5A-West Conference opponent for the Tigers.