7A-WEST : Ragsdale sparks No. 1 Bentonville
Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2008
ROGERS— Rogers Heritage (3-3, 0-3 7 A-West ) kept the top-ranked Bentonville offense quiet for the first half, but the Tigers woke up in the second half.
After taking a 10-7 lead into halftime, the Tigers (6-0, 3-0 ) scored 31 unanswered points in the third quarter on their way to 54-7 victory.
Senior Erick Ragsdale sparked the surge with four rushes in the quarter for 117 yards and a touchdown, and had an interception and a blocked punt.
Ragsdale jump-started the Tigers’ offense on Bentonville’s first play in the second half with a 60-yard run to Heritage’s 7-yard line. He then capped the three-play drive with a 7-yard run.
“Last week it was Chase Baggett, and this week it was Eric Ragsdale, and that doesn’t take away from everybody else and what they did,” Bentonville Coach Barry Lunney said. “Some guys just get to be in the right space at the right time.” The Tigers scored three touchdowns in six minutes, including a 35-yard catch by Taylor Lyles and a 1-yard dive by Shane Boedeker with 6: 45 left in the third. Later in the third, Ryan Adams made a 44-yard field goal and Baggett scored when he recovered a fumble in the end zone that was caused when Ragsdale blocked a punt.
“We didn’t play very well in the first half and I knew I had to go out there and do something,” Ragsdale said. “To block a punt was great. We had to do what we had to do.” The Tigers added 13 points in the fourth quarter on their way to 47-point victory, their largest on the season.
Bentonville’s 6-0 start is the team’s best start since 2001, when it won the state championship. Part of the reason is the Tigers’ defense, and it stepped up again in the second half. Heritage did not have positive yardage (-15 ) and was held scoreless in the second half.
Heritage’s defense has struggled against 7 A-West opponents after starting the second 3-0. Every conference opponent has scored at least 47 points on the War Eagles as Heritage has allowed an average of 53. 3 points per game in 7 A-West action.
It was the second conference game in which Heritage’s opponent took control in the first five minutes of the second half. In Week 4, Fort Smith Northside scored 22 points in the first five minutes of the second half on its way to a 59-38 victory.
“That is the second time in three weeks that we had an opportunity to win the game but came out in the third quarter and gave up a big play and turned the ball over,” Heritage Coach Perry Escalante said. “Before you know it, they hung 21 points on us in less than a few minutes. That is just killing us.” It was the third consecutive game that the Tigers have held an opponent to a touchdown or less.
The Tigers contained Heritage sophomore quarterback Reed Brown, who finished 9 of 20 passing for 107 yards.
Bentonville quarterback Pearson Gean completed 4 of 7 pass for 74 yards with 2 touchdowns, while senior J. C. King did’nt complete any of his seven attempts.
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