PRAIRIE GROVE -- On a rainy night when many junior high football games across the area were canceled or postponed due to the threat of severe weather Prairie Grove defeated Elkins, 22-0.
The Oct. 24 road victory loomed large in the race to reach the 4A-1 Conference championship game, which Prairie Grove, a Wing-T team, advanced to for the second consecutive year as the league representative of the West Division.
"It was sloppy, wet out there," said Prairie Grove head junior high coach John Elder. "They're definitely a decent opponent. They're real good out there. I mean they're a really good team and they played us a really good game. They defended us well and it wasn't just drive down, move the ball. We had quite a few long drives that we had to just keep going on with things. So, they were definitely a good opponent."
The Wing-T employed by the junior Tigers is a run-first oriented offense, which served them well in wet field conditions.
Prairie Grove scored on the third play of the game when Gavin Butler took the handoff on a wingback reverse and ran the ball 30 yards for a touchdown. Ethan Miller added a 2-point conversion run and the junior Tigers led 8-0 in the first quarter.
Miller shook free for a 29-yard jaunt to the house later in the first quarter. This time Prairie Grove couldn't convert and settled for a 14-0 lead which they held at halftime.
On the first drive of the third quarter Miller accelerated through the Elks' defensive unit gaining 59 yards before he was brought down at Elkins' 4.
"It definitely helps to have somebody like Ethan out there that's got a lot of speed and strength. He knows how to run the ball well and knows how to find the holes and make the cuts," Elder said. "It's nice to have somebody like him out there for sure."
Rhett Marrell took care of the remaining yardage by scoring on the next play. Conner Whetsell ran in the 2-point conversion and the junior Tigers were up by three touchdowns, leading 22-0.
Elder praised the play of the junior Tiger offensive line.
"I thought our line handled things very well. They adjusted to what they (Elkins) were doing on defense very well in the second half," Elder said. "Some things we were having trouble with in the first half, they adjusted at halftime and did a great job. Our line is, they're outstanding. They're making holes and doing a great job. I can't ask for more out of those guys."
The junior Tigers attempted only one pass in the rain, which was completed. Elder said they were going to run another pass, but fumbled the snap.
"I probably would have thrown the ball a little bit more if it weren't raining, especially how they were playing us," Elder said. "Their secondary was real tight on us so we probably would have thrown the ball more on them. We just didn't with the weather."
Defensive coordinator Mason Pinkley continues to marvel at the junior Tigers' commitment to excellence on defense.
"We have a bunch of individually-talented kids. They're all good athletes and can run and strong so we basically just line them up and let them play," Pinkley said. "They study film really well. They do their part for sure so they're ready, they know what's coming. Success breeds success so they feel confident in themselves. They expect it to happen so they go make it happen."
Conner Hubbs is among two eighth-graders starting on the junior Tiger defense. Hubbs made an interception and broke up two more passes.
"He made a lot of tackles. He really stepped up his game to play with those ninth graders. He's one of them," Pinkley said. "Everybody else did something good as a unit. Rhett Marrell again, for the second or third week-in-a-row he's played every snap offense and defense. He's really gutsy. I ask him if he needs air. He never wants it and the defensive line was great."
Sports on 11/13/2019