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BENTONVILLE — During a midweek interview, Bentonville football coach Jody Grant illustrated a play Valor Christian had run earlier, and the formation the Eagles used allowed a tackle to be an eligible receiver downfield. That play — with another unique twist — showed up during Friday night’s nonconference game at Tiger Stadium, but the Tigers were ready and waiting for it. Valor Christian had a 10-7 lead in the second quarter when the Eagles went for the trick play. Dylan McCaffrey threw a lateral to Christian Ellis, who then threw the ball downfield. The ball was not only badly overthrown, but it was intercepted by Bentonville’s Tyrone Mahone at the Tigers 30. “At first, I wasn’t sure our kids had recognized the formation,” Grant said. “We were fortunate to come up with a turnover there, and it was big.” Bentonville (2-0) took the lead for good five plays later on Kasey Ford’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Kam’Ron Mays-Hunt, and the Tigers eventually scored 27 unanswered points en route to a 41-22 victory. Play of the Game: Look no further than Mahone’s interception. It turned the momentum in Bentonville’s favor, and the Tigers made the most of it. Players of the Week: Jacob Clark continues to build on Bentonville’s legacy of quality running backs. The junior had 14 carries for 178 yards and three touchdowns, two of them coming in the third quarter as Bentonville pulled away. Injury Report: Clark was held out of the fourth quarter because of an ankle issue, but it didn’t appear to be serious. Notable: Play was stopped for a considerable amount of time as Valor Christian’s Carson Cooper was injured near midfield. Cooper was taken to a local hospital but announced on Twitter shortly after midnight he had been released. … The two teams combined for 867 yards total offense (Valor Christian 439, Bentonville 428). … Bentonville’s 11-game win streak is now the second-longest current run in the state after Junction City’s 41-game streak ended with a loss to Rison. Pulaski Academy has the longest streak with 15 straight wins. … Teams from five states besides Arkansas have now played at Tiger Stadium with Valor Christian’s visit Friday night. Bentonville has also hosted teams from Texas, Missouri, Mississippi and New Jersey. Up Next: Bentonville completes the nonconference portion of the schedule with another new out-of-state opponent as the Tigers host Tallahassee (Fla.) Rickards. Rickards improved to 3-1 with a 36-35 overtime victory over Choctaw, thanks for Marcus Riley’s two-point conversion run on a quarterback keeper.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Bentonville High School Athletics

BENTONVILLE 41, VALOR CHRISTIAN 22 — ONE MORE

HENRY APPLE

ARPreps.com | 9/12/2015

PHOTO CREDIT: Bentonville Athletics