PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove shut out its third straight opponent as the Tigers defeated Gentry 42-0 Friday at Tiger Stadium.
While Prairie Grove (8-0, 6-0 4A-1 Conference) started slow offensively, turning the ball over on downs during its first possession and losing an interception in the first quarter as well, the struggles did not last.
Quarterback Cooper Winters threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Noah Hunter to cap a six-play, 70-yard drive to give the Tigers their initial lead. Prairie Grove extended its lead in the second quarter after Gentry muffed a punt and Weston Bartholomew scored on an eight-yard touchdown run four plays later.
“It took us a little while to figure out what we were doing,” Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier said. “Their nose tackle was giving us some trouble and we missed a couple of blocks right off the bat and we got into a hole with some penalties and big mistakes, so it just took a little while to get it going.”
Bartholomew scoredagain in the second quarter - on a 15-yard touchdown run - and finished with 65 yards on seven attempts in three quarters of action. His cousin, Logan Bartholomew, added a 40-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and was among 10 players to record a carry for the Tigers.
After the Tigers’ second score of the game, Jon Halbert did not hesitate to extend the lead to 21-0. The senior receiver/defensive back deflected a pass on third down and, two plays later, scored on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Winters. Halbert intercepted four passes and scored a touchdown against Pea Ridge last week and had an interception returned for a touchdown against the Pioneers called back because of a roughing the passer penalty to go along with a pair of pass breakups.
Gentry struggled to move the ball against Prairie Grove’s defense, gaining just 113 yards, one more than Winters’ 112 first-half passing yards. Gentry coach Brian Little said he realized the Pioneers (2-7, 1-5) were outmatched by a better team, but appreciated his team’s effort.
Sports, Pages 9 on 10/31/2012