FARMINGTON -- Two Tiger touchdowns in the closing seconds of the first half changed the game as Prairie Grove scored a 28-8 victory over rival Farmington in junior high football Sept. 1.
Prairie Grove turned an 8-0 deficit into a 12-8 halftime lead at Farmington's Allen Holland Field with a sustained drive followed by an interception return. Both scores came in the last 1:10 of the second period. Prairie Grove marched 70 yards in 12 plays over a 4:10 span to cut the lead to 8-6 on Keiandrae Hobbs' 6-yard run off left tackle. The Cardinal defense prevented a 2-point run, but Prairie Grove's defense capitalized on an errant pass on the ensuing Farmington possession. Jadin Higgs picked off a pass and ran the ball back 45 yards for a touchdown.
Prairie Grove head junior high coach John Elder said Higgins was either going to make the interception or drop the ball and be the most embarrassed player on the field because the football came right to him. Higgins, Prairie Grove's starting quarterback, had just engineered a long touchdown drive with the junior Tigers converting twice on third down, but this score was quick and pushed Prairie Grove in front although their conversion running attempt again failed.
"He took it to the house right there," Elder said."He made some great plays offensively. He had some good reads, he made some runs, he made some passes."
A penalty on the ensuing kickoff cost Farmington dearly. JaDarrien Burns initially dropped the football, then was off and running once he secured the pigskin, but his touchdown return was called back by a holding penalty. The junior Cardinals would not score again, having a second touchdown erased by penalty in the third period. On second and seven, Sutton threw to Drew Sturgeon, who caught the ball in the end zone, but the penalty moved the line of scrimmage back nine yards to the Tiger 30. Two plays later, Cade Grant's interception took the ball away from Farmington ending a promising drive.
Going the other way, Prairie Grove's Jared Harger ripped off runs of 22 and 20 yards. As the drive progressed into the red zone, the junior Cardinals knocked the ball loose but couldn't come up with the fumble. Matt Rush recovered for Prairie Grove and Hobbs capped the drive with a 15-yard run. Higgins added the 2-point run on a bootleg to give the Tigers a 20-8 advantage at the 7:53 mark of the fourth quarter.
Prairie Grove tacked on another touchdown, going 59 yards in 10 plays with back-to-back fourth down conversions. Facing fourth-and-18 from the Farmington 23, Prairie Grove was bailed out by a pass interference penalty. They still didn't have first down and fourth down was replayed from the junior Cardinal 11. Breaking off left tackle, Foster Layman ran in a score, then Harrison Lowe ran the other way off right tackle to add the 2-point conversion giving Prairie Grove a 28-8 lead with 1:19 remaining in the game.
Farmington led early in the second quarter after capitalizing on good field position. A block-in-the-back penalty during a punt return placed the ball at the junior Tiger three. Farmington's defense held the visitors without a first-down with Hayden Grantham dropping a junior Tiger runner for 2-yard loss on second down. The junior Tigers were forced to punt from their own four. Sturgeon tracked the punt laterally, fielded the ball and made a good return to the Prairie Grove 11. On the next play, Burns scored on a jet sweep and Tate Sutton ran in the 2-point conversion.
Mistakes piled on top of mistakes short-circuited any hope of a comeback and Farmington head junior high coach Tracy Sutton wants the junior Cardinals to be mentally-tough and handle things when they go bad on the field.
"We had a lot of mental breakdowns," Sutton said. "Not doing what we're coached to do, we lost. I'll take the blame for that one. We've got to do a better job of preparing them."
Sports on 09/14/2016