BENTONVILLE — Courtney Haskell sprinted onto the Tiger Stadium field Friday night, just as quickly as he had rushing for 128 hard-fought yards on 29 carries.

The senior running back high-fived several Tigers defenders as they darted off the field, moments after stuffng Springdale Har-Ber’s Gordon Welch on fourth-and-goal. He chest-bumped a few others in the waning minutes of Bentonville’s 17-0 victory.

And after the Tigers fi nalized a share of the 7A-West Conference title, Haskell emerged from a loud music-filled Bentonville locker room to off;er up more praise.

“Our defense was just amazing, man,” Haskell said. “It was amazing watching them doing their thing from

the sideline. The offense owes everything to the defense. They’re the ones who got it done.”

Bentonville earned the 7A-West’s No. 1 playoff;seed behind another solid defensive performance, recording its fifth shutout this season.

In a matchup between the state’s top-ranked teams, the Tigers (9-1, 6-1) held Har-Ber to nine fi rst downs and 210 total yards.

Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said his defensive coaches and players deserved credit for their tireless f ilm study and attention to detail throughout the week.

Arthur Flowers forced a fumble, Nick Gneiting and Dakota Baggett each picked off;Har-Ber’s Ryan Luther and the Wildcats’ offense never could get in rhythm.

“The defense gave great effort all night,” Lunney said. “It looked like they wanted to get to the football really bad. Har-Ber can give you a lot of problems with all the misdirections and motions, and I thought our defensive coaches and players did an unbelievable job of preparing.

“We’re not the biggest physically out there, but we’ve got good quickness, speed and desire.”

Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said he wanted to accept the blame for his off;ense’s struggles. Luther completed only 7 of his 17 passes and the Wildcats rushed for just 154 yards on 33 carries.

His team’s miscues - many self-inflicted - disappointed Wood.

“Our kids played hard, but we made a ton of mental errors, mistakes and penalties,” Wood said. “You have to give Bentonville credit. They earned this win tonight. But we left our defense on the fi eld too much.

“If you do that against one of the best offensive teams in the state, you’re going to be in trouble.”

Wood surely became most frustrated during a 99-yard Bentonville drive that resulted in the game’s first score. After Har-Ber pinned the Tigers at their

1, Pearson Gean led Bentonville on a touchdown drive that ended with his 21-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Trudo.

The Wildcats (9-1, 6-1) committed three 15-yard penalties on the possession. Har-Ber had plenty of other chances to get back into the game, but Bentonville’s defense ensured that didn’t happen.

Baggett’s interception set up Haskell’s 9-yard scoring run that put the Tigers up 14-0 late in the third quarter. And the Tigers stopped Har-Ber twice on fourth down - once at the Bentonville 40 and again when sophomore Chris Scroggins stuff;ed Welch at the 3 to seal the shutout.

“It’s meant so much to shut out a team as good as Har-Ber,” said Flowers, a senior linebacker. “It was a big morale builder, and we can build off;that.”

Sports, Pages 6 on 11/07/2009

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