KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Many of the questions marks surrounding Bentonville’s football teams became exclamation points during the Tigers’ 24-13 victory Friday night at Kansas City Rockhurst.

Everybody knew Bentonville had a quality quarterback in senior Kasey Ford, but who would be on the receiving end of his passes? Ford wound up spreading the ball around as seven different players had receptions.

Clay Barganier led the Tigers’ receiver corps with five catches for 35 yards, and sophomore Kam’ron Mays-Hunt had four receptions for 70 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter. Mays-Hunt had a second touchdown pass nullified because of a holding penalty.

“(Bentonville assistant) Coach (Rod) Washington said we’re going to have six to eight players that’s going to go in there and switch out,” Ford said. “And I trust every one of those guys. Those guys have stepped up a lot over the summer, and it’s panned out.”

Meanwhile, there was the question on who would emerge as the go-to ball carrier if Bentonville wants to continue stressing its balanced offensive attack. Two of them rose to the occasion this time.

Junior Jacob Clark provided durability with his 25 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown. Senior Avery Donson, however, gives the Tigers a quality one-two punch as he added nine carries for 53 yards and a fourth-quarter score.

“Ultimately, we have to do where our running game is going to go,” Bentonville coach Jody Grant said. “We’re just going to go with the hot hand, and really both of them did real well. We’re pleased with that.”

Player Of The Game: Ford directed a Bentonville offense that played at a much faster pace than it had in years past and was nearly flawless. He finished the game with 185 yards on 18 of 23 passing.

Plays Of The Game: Linebacker Destyn Adkins came through and denied Rockhurst a chance to tie the game early in the second quarter. He sacked Hawklets quarterback Chance May for a 5-yard loss, then recovered a fumble on the ensuing play.

Notable: One of the few drawbacks in Bentonville’s win was penalties. The Tigers were flagged 13 times for 115 yards. … Bentonville enjoyed a 382-163 advantage in total offense, and the defense held Rockhurst to just 50 yards rushing. … Problems in the special teams arose as the Tigers had a snap sail over Hayden Moehring’s head on a punt attempt to start the second quarter, and a fumbled snap led to a missed 20-yard field-goal atttempt. … The win was Bentonville’s 10th straight, giving the Tigers the state’s third-longest current win streak. Only Junction City (41) and Pulaski Academy (14) have longer unbeaten runs right now.

Up Next: It’s more out-of-state competition for Bentonville as the Tigers host Highlands Ranch (Colo.) Valor Christian, which was a state runner up team last year. Valor Christian, Colorado’s top-ranked Class 5A team, suffered a 28-14 loss at home Friday night.

Bentonville Tigers 24

Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst Hawklets 13
