Defense, Smallwood lead West to win at Har-Ber

If you didn't know Bentonville West had arrived, well, now you know. The second-year Wolverines earned the biggest road victory in their short history Friday night, routing Springdale Har-Ber 37-19 to move to 7-0 on the season and 4-0 in 7A-West play. West's defense flexed its muscles in the win, coming away with four Har-Ber turnovers and nine sacks of Wildcats quarterback Grant Allen. Levi Rutherford tallied a pair of sacks, but outside linebacker Kendall Young stole the show, finishing the night with four. "We were doubted all the way coming in," said Young, who holds an offer from Princeton. "Everybody said we didn't have the defense to play in the 7A, but we proved that tonight. And our defensive line came through in the clutch. We proved that tonight, that we can play." West's Nick Whitlatch, Tucker Swoboda and Jason Gloeckler were on the receiving end of Allen's interceptions, and Chris Busch recovered a Wildcats fumble in the first quarter, which immediately turned into points on quarterback Will Jarrett's six-yard touchdown pass to a slanting Jadon Jackson. The score put West ahead 7-0 and ahead for good. The Wolverines also turned Har-Ber over on downs four times in the win, twice in the fourth quarter. And thanks to the constant pressure up front -- and a couple of Har-Ber drops -- the Wolverines forced Allen to miss his final five pass attempts and finish 10 of 21 on the night. "Hats off to our defense tonight. I couldn't be more pleased," West coach Bryan Pratt said. "Everyone seems to think because of our offensive style that we don't play defense very well. I think tonight we showed we can play defense." Jarrett finished with roughly 200 yards through the air in the win, throwing for two scores, but running back Tyreese Smallwood capped a memorable night for West with a 36-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run. Prior to the Wolverines' final drive, the junior rushed for 150 yards, his second consecutive game with 100+ yards on the ground, and a pair of scores. "It feels good. We couldn't have done it without our offensive line," Smallwood said. "We work hard for this, and now everybody knows who we are. Our coaches push us to the limit, and we knew what we could do, but (people on the outside) didn't know. But we've got to be humble and not forget what got us here is hard work." Har-Ber's loss drops it to 5-2 and 2-2 in conference play. Friday marked the first time the Wildcats had dropped back-to-back games since its 2014 playoff loss to Bryant and its 2015 season opener against Webb City (Mo.). Har-Ber's four turnovers match its season-high and push its total to 11 -- all in the last three weeks -- in 7A-West play. Allen, who ran for a team-high 72 yards, had a 22-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to set the final score. Payton Copher, who had run for 157 yards the previous two weeks, got one touch in the loss

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DEFENSE, SMALLWOOD LEAD WEST TO WIN AT HAR-BER

SCOTTIE BORDELON

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 10/14/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Shupe