SPRINGDALE — No Gordon Welch? No problem.

Springdale Har-Ber used thesenior tandem of Houston Pruitt and Kaleb Vaughn Friday night to produce a 25-point victory over Fayetteville, the Wildcats’ biggest victory this season.

Welch, a junior running back, has been the focus of Har-Ber’s running attack this season, but coaches decided late last week he wouldn’t play aftersuffering a second-degree strain in his right shoulder against Fort Smith Southside.

Pruitt and Vaughn combined for 246 rushing yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run from Pruitt in the third quarter.

The e◊ort was good enough to name both seniors the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers Players of the Week.

“Houston kind of gave us a spark plug, and Kaleb ran hard in the end,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said after the game. “Early on, I thought (Vaughn) was kind of feeling his way through. You’re talking about moving a receiver to tailback in a power and counter run scheme.

“It just takes time, but being able to put Houston back there (helped). Once he got to the next level, he was gone. That helped Kaleb out, and he really took over in the second half and pounded it in there.”

Normally, Pruitt has played in the defensive secondary this season and Vaughn has been areceiver. A few times, the Wildcats (9-0, 6-0 7A-West Conference) have included Pruitt on offense, letting him take direct snaps in their “Wildcat” formation.

But Friday was the first time both players were used in the backfield all game long, something Har-Ber desperately needed to keep its undefeated record intact.

“It’s a lot of fun because of being on defense the past few years,” Pruitt said. “You geton o◊ense more, and you’re eyes get real big. I just love being over there.”

Pruitt also caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Luther just before halftime to give the Wildcats a 20-14 lead. The play was a swing pass to the left flat, and Pruitt - using a running back’s mentality - went untouched down the sideline.

“I got it, and the line just cleared everybody out,” Pruitt said. “I saw the end zone and just ran full speed.”

Sports, Pages 12 on 11/02/2009

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