Pankau throws for 3 TDs as Bentonville knocks off Van Buren

BENTONVILLE -- When Bentonville High puts Ben Pankau in at quarterback, he usually gives his team a quality threat with both the run and the pass. The Tigers, however, chose to take away the senior's legs Friday night, but his right arm worked fine. Pankau threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns as Bentonville celebrated its homecoming with a 41-21 victory over Van Buren. "Ben's operating pretty good, throwing the around the football," Bentonville coach Jody Grant said. "We saw some things we liked through the air, so we took it. We missed a few that we need to hit, but we'll get that. "But he made some throws, and our guys caught it. I thought we operated nice and clean with that group in the first half." Pankau hit sophomore receiver Chaz Nimrod with a pair of touchdown passes as the Tigers (5-0, 2-0 7A-West) jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. The two made connections for a 48-yard touchdown pass on the fifth play of the game, then the two did it again with a 73-yard touchdown pass with 10 minutes, 8 seconds left in the first half. Van Buren (3-2, 1-1) did score on the ensuing drive as Gary Phillips threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jaiden Henry, but Bentonville scored 17 more points over the final five minutes of the first half. Logan Turner hit a 32-yard field goal attempt, then Cole Joyce scored on a 2-yard run at the 3:29 mark before Pankau struck again, this time with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Zach Lee for a 38-7 halftime lead. "We played a terrible first quarter, all the way around," Van Buren coach Crosby Tuck said. "We didn't necessarily come out flat, but a lot of things where we had a lot of self-inflicted mistakes. That was frustrating to me. "When you play a team as disciplined and as well-coached as Bentonville is, you really can't get over them. If you make a mistake, they will make sure they will expose it. That's what they have done for a long time to a whole lot of people." Bentonville had a chance to invoke the running clock after Van Buren failed on a fourth-and-3 from its 27 to start the second half, but the Tigers stalled at the Pointers 8 and settled for Elliot Nimrod's 25-yard field goal for a 41-7 lead. Phillips then closed out the scoring with a pair of touchdown passes, a 9-yarder to Jude Bartholomew later in the third quarter and a 48-yarder to Damarius Newton in the fourth quarter. Four Downs • Bentonville now has won the last 12 meetings between the two teams, but there might not be another one in the foreseeable future. Van Buren will drop to Class 6A next season and will be replaced by Fort Smith Southside in the 7A-West. • Bentonville senior tailback Preston Crawford enjoyed his second straight game of surpassing the 100-yard mark. He finished with 17 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown -- a 7-yard run in the first quarter to give the Tigers an early 14-0 cushion. • Van Buren had 60 yards total offense in the first quarter, but 56 of those came on one run by Brayden Rivas, who finished with six carries for 75 yards. The Pointers went three-and-out on their first two possessions and had minus-5 yards total offense. • Van Buren returns to 7A-West action next week with a home game against Fayetteville, where the Pointers will go against former head coach Casey Dick. Bentonville will also be at home as the Tigers take on Rogers Heritage.

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PANKAU THROWS FOR 3 TDS AS BENTONVILLE KNOCKS OFF VAN BUREN

HENRY APPLE

nwaonline.com | 10/8/2019