Pioneers overcome by Tigers

— Prairie Grove was on a mission to run the football Friday night at a muddy Pioneer Stadium.

That mission was accomplished.

The Tigers ran for 332 yards and fi ve touchdowns on their way to a 35-14 victory over the Gentry Pioneers.

Junior Bobby Catt gave Prairie Grove (8-1, 6-0 4A-1) the early 7-0 lead after a 64-yard run on the third play from scrimmage. Prairie Grove recovered an onside kick on the following kickoff. Three plays later, senior Nick Sugg scored from the 4 yard line and the rout was on.

“We got off to a rough start,” Gentry coach Brian Little said. “You just can’t do that against a good football team.”

It didn’t get any easier for the Gentry team (5-4, 3-3 4A-1), as Nick Sugg ran for two more touchdowns before the first half was over. Sugg fi nished with 133 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns.

“Sugg is just the kind of guy who is going to fi nd a crease somewhere,” Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier said. “I came in at halftime and said ‘OK, I want you to block here and you to block here and we are going to run it right here.’ And Sugg said ‘Coach, we got it,’ and I said ‘OK, I’ll just leave you guys alone then.’”

The Tigers ran for more than 300 yards, but that wasn’t the most impressive performance the team puton. The defense held the Pioneers scoreless through three quarters and bottled up dual threat quarterback Jarod Cousins for most of the night.

Gentry was held to only 192 yards of total offense with Cousins accounting for 187 of those yards. The Tigers knew they were in for a test with Cousins and the defense stepped up and aced that test.

“Cousins is indomitable; he can change the game on any snap,” Abshier said. “We had the philosophy of let’s bend and don’t break, and we made adjustments throughout the game and we pulled it off to a tee.”

The Pioneers added two late scores with Cousins connecting on two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Cousins hit junior running back Jon Brown on a 20-yard touchdown, and the following drive he connected with Stone Faulkenberry on a 17-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining in the game.

“That was just a really good football team, they are talented, well coached, and have a scheme that they run from the fourth grade up,” Little said. “That kind of program, with that tradition, and that kind of talent they have over there,you can expect they are going to do well.”

EXTRA POINTS

◊Gentry opened up a new athletic facility on Senior Night. This was the seniors’ first and last opportunity to run on to the fi eld coming from the new facility.

◊ Prairie Grove had three players who rushed for over 75 yards. Bobby Catt finished with 79, James Speed added 88 and Nick Sugg led the team with 133.

UP NEXT

Gentry goes on the road to Ozark next week, and Prairie Grove also continues their road trip as they head to Gravette.

Sports, Pages 7 on 11/06/2013