GRAVETTE -- Prairie Grove stole the momentum from Gravette on Friday night
Gravette cut the Tigers lead to 13-7 with 3 minutes and 39 seconds before halftime and the Lions slated to get the ball to start the second half. The Tigers needed something good to happen.
It did.
Prairie Grove marched 60 yards in 3:05 for a 19-7 lead and then started the second half with back-to-back touchdowns in a 39-27 victory over Gravette in a 4A-1 Conference game. It was the Tigers (3-1, 2-0 4A-1) 16th-straight 4A-1 Conference win.
Prairie Grove converted twice on third down and once on fourth down before Eli Lopez capped the Tigers last drive of the first half with a eight-yard touchdown run for the 12-point halftime lead. Prairie Grove tight end Dylan Soehner caught a 25-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Marrell on fourth-and-10 from the Lions 39 to keep the drive alive.
Marrell also completed a seven-yard pass to Blake Faulk on one third down conversion while Bobby Catt raced six yards on another third down conversion.
"That drive sure helped us," said Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier. "Coach Elder runs our two-minute offense and they just pushed it down there. It worked like a champ. I was thinking, 'Why don't we do that all the time.' Obviously, this is a big win on the road. It was a physical game on both sides."
Gravette (3-2, 1-1) coach Bill Harrelson said the drive changed the complexion of the game.
"That is what championship teams do, and we didn't do a good job of stopping them," Harrelson said. "I was proud of the way our kids played, it was a hard-nosed game. I feel good about what we did."
Prairie Grove led 31-7 with just over four minutes left in the third quarter but Gravette cut the lead to 31-21 early in the fourth quarter. But Prairie Grove went 75 yards for a 39-21 lead when Catt scored from the two. Marrell hit Soehner for 37 yards to put the Tigers inside the Gravette 10.
The 6-foot-6 Soehner had four catches for 86 yards.
"Dylan, he had some sticky fingers and he made some tremendous catches," Abshier said.
EXTRA POINTS
• Marrell was 11 of 14 passing for 175 yards and three touchdowns.
UP NEXT: Gravette hosts Pea Ridge Friday while Prairie Grove travels to Shiloh Christian.
Prairie Grove 7 12 12 8 -- 39 Gravette 0 7 6 14 -- 27
FIRST QUARTER
PG -- Soehner 18 pass from Marrell (Gauldin kick), 4:39
SECOND QUARTER
PG -- Lopez 2 run (kick failed), 6:38 Grav -- Duarte 5 run (Duarte kick), 3:39 PG -- Lopez 5 run (run failed), 28.3
THIRD QUARTER
PG -- Catt 30 pass from Marrell (run failed), 8:15 PG -- Chamberlain 30 pass from Marrell (run failed), 3:55 Grav -- Soule 4 run (pass failed), 28.5
FOURTH QUARTER
Grav -- Pruitt 15 pass from Moorman (Moorman pass to Soule), 9:38 PG -- Catt 2 run (Catt run), 4:47 Grav -- Duarte 10 run (pass failed), 3:08
Sports on 10/08/2014