BENTONVILLE — A week of rest did wonders for Bentonville’s football team, particularly junior tailback Dylan Smith.
The Tigers, who enjoyed a first-round bye to start the Class 7A state playoffs, returned to action with their best offensive performance of the season in a 45-13 quarterfinal victory Friday over Fort Smith Southside in Tiger Stadium.
THAT FIGURES
3 — times Bentonville has scored 45 points in a game this season
510 — Yards compiled by Bentonville’s offense
1,171 — Rushing yards for Dylan Smith this season
Bentonville (9-2) matched its season-high point total and accumulated 510 yards total offense, shattering its previous season-high of 436 yards against Springdale Har-Ber. The Tigers would have had even more, but they chose to take a knee twice for five-yard losses on their final drive with the game in hand.
“It was very good, and we needed to have that,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said. “The thing you worry about after a layoff is the rust, going against each other.
“We tried to take it easy on ourselves during the open date. You don’t want anybody to get injured, and you worry about the physicality once it’s real again. Man, our offensive line really had a nice evening.”
That paved the way for Smith, who ran for a season-high 285 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. The junior, who missed the first two games with a high ankle sprain, entered the game needing 114 yards to reach 1,000 yards this season and almost had that amount (111) by the end of the first quarter.
Smith had a 12-yard run on his first carry, but his biggest run came later in the first quarter. Bentonville faced fourth-and-2 at the Southside 33 when Smith took his handoff and hit the hole, then went to his left and gained 28 yards before scoring on the next play.
“I felt great, even through the cold weather,” Smith said. “I just had to loosen up, and the line was blocking great. The offensive line was blocking the best it had all season, and they were making some big holes.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Smith had a 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, then bolted 49 yards for a score on the second play of the fourth quarter.
PLAY OF THE NIGHT: Bentonville ran trickery to perfection with the flea-flicker, and the result was a 49-yard touchdown pass from Kasey Ford to Jimmie Jackson. It came just 19 seconds after Southside had scored to pull within 14-6 and took away any momentum the Rebels had.
INJURY UPDATE: No serious injuries reported
NOTABLE: Lunney picked up his 237th career victory, putting him in a tie with former Gillett and Bauxite coach Jon Watson for 10th place all-time among Arkansas coaches. … Jackson, who also caught a 29-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, has scored nine times out of his 28 catches this season. … Tyrone Mahone, who had just one carry through 11 games this season, helped the Tigers’ ground attack with five carries for 37 yards and had an interception on a Southside trick play when receiver Andrew Barley tried to throw a pass to quarterback Austin Jackson.
UP NEXT: Bentonville is back at Tiger Stadium for a semifinal showdown Friday night as the Tigers host Conway, a team Bentonville hasn’t played since a 42-0 victory in 2009. The Wampus Cats (9-2), the No. 2 seed from the 7A-Central, advanced with a 52-42 victory at home over Springdale Har-Ber.