BENTON -- Benton's offense was in high gear Friday night against Siloam Springs and its defense was just as impressive.
[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD: Full results + recaps, photos and more]
Brandon Hunter had 123 yards rushing and 104 yards receiving and scored four first-half touchdowns -- 3 on pass receptions and 1 rushing -- as Benton rolled to a 63-0 mercy rule victory in a battle of Panthers at the Benton Athletics Complex.
Benton finished with 512 yards of offense and its defense held Siloam Springs to 32 total yards in the 6A-West Conference game.
Benton (3-2, 1-1) totaled 374 first-half yards and led 42-0 at halftime. The second half was played with a running clock.
"I was real proud of our effort tonight, especially defensively," Benton Coach Brad Harris said. "We came out with a lot of intensity. The last two weeks we haven't had that intensity. We played real well, and the offense got to clicking."
Benton lost a fumble on its first offensive play, giving Siloam Springs (1-4, 1-1) the ball inside the red zone early in the first quarter. But Siloam Springs turned the ball over on downs and Benton's offense went to work.
Nate Beck hit Trey Pepper for a 22-yard pass, Hunter had two 7-yard runs before scoring on a 39-yard reception, when he zigzagged through the Siloam Springs defense after the catch.
Hunter scored again on the first play of the second quarter on a 27-yard run, and Benton made its second two-point conversion to lead 16-0.
Preston Stone's 2-yard run gave Benton a 22-0 lead, and Ty Callahan caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Beck for a 28-0 lead.
Hunter scored two more times, on TD passes of 37 and 20 yards from Beck, who finished the night 17 of 20 for 226 yards and four touchdowns -- all in the first half.
Stone returned the opening kick of the second half 87 yards for a touchdown and Zak Wallace added touchdown runs of 63 and 18 yards in the second half for Benton. Wallace finished with six carries for 117 yards.
Sports on 10/01/2016