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Har-Ber Knocks Off Bentonville
Last updated Friday, November 7, 2008 11:37 PM CST in Prep Sports
By Nathan Allen
The Morning News
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SPRINGDALE — Derek Brinker slowly walked off the field in Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium on Friday night giving high fives to anyone in sight.
Feeling overly excited from Springdale Har-Ber’s 20-6 victory over previously undefeated Bentonville, Brinker wanted to cherish the moment as much as possible and reflect on what he’d just done.
Brinker, a junior running back for the Wildcats (8-2, 5-2 7A-West Conference), ran for 108 yards and a touchdown against the Tigers, who’ve consistently had the best defense in the conference this season.
With the victory, Har-Ber secured the No. 4 seed from the West and will host North Little Rock next week in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.
“We saw it as a weakness (for Bentonville), so we thought we could run the ball on them,” Brinker said. “We just wanted to come out and shove it down their throats. And how about the offensive line, those guys did a great job of coming off the line and hitting them in the mouth.”
For Bentonville, the loss was something it hasn’t experienced all season.
For the first time this year, the Tigers (9-1, 6-1) never found any consistency on offense, had trouble stopping their opponent’s running and passing attacks and had four turnovers, two lost fumbles and two interceptions.
Despite the loss, Bentonville is still the conference’s outright champion and will be a No. 1 seed in the playoffs with a first-round bye.
“We knew Har-Ber was a good football team,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said. “They play well at home and it was tough. We didn’t play particularly well, but they had a lot to do with that. We’re not going to dwell (on the loss), we’re conference champions and we play at home the next two weeks (in the playoffs). I like our chances.”
For the most part, Har-Ber used its running attack, totaling 190 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, the Wildcats scored a momentum-building touchdown in the third quarter when Zach Smith intercepted a pass from Bentonville quarterback J.C. King and returned it 48 yards to give Har-Ber a 13-0 lead.
Har-Ber coach Chris Wood also said the Wildcats’ opening 14-play drive played a big part in their victory.
“Our offense did a good job of just consistently running the ball,” Wood said. “Traditionally, I like chunking it all over the place, but when you play one of the best defenses in the state of Arkansas, you have to be smart and give your guys a chance to be successful.”
GAME BREAKER
Springdale Har-Ber 20 Bentonville 6
Why The Wildcats won
Har-Ber, mostly a pass-happy team this season, ran for 190 yards and two touchdowns to take down Bentonville. The Wildcats’ defense also intercepted two Bentonville passes and recovered two fumbles.
Why The Tigers lost
Bentonville played sloppy at times, turning the ball over four times that proved to be the difference in the game. The Tigers also finished with just 208 yards of total offense.
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