SPRINGDALE — In the 7A-West Conference’s biggest game of the season, Bentonville’s defense came ready to play.

With a conference championship on the line, the Tigers handed Springdale Har-Ber its first shutout in three years and earned at least a share of the title for the third straight year.

The victory also gave Bentonville, the defending state champion, the No. 1 seed in the Class 7A playoffs and a first-round bye for the second straight year.

This season, Bentonville has posted five shutouts in 10 games, allowing an average of only 9.4 points per game, easily the best in the conference.

The effort against Har-Ber was good enough to name Bentonville’s entire defensive unit the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers Players of the Week.

“We’ve played really great all season. It’s not a situation where we just had one good game,” Bentonville defensive coordinator Robbie Jones said. “We’ve just got a great varsity program going on. It’s not where we’ve relied on one or two players; it truly is a team effort for our defensive guys.”

Linebacker Arthur Flowers, Bentonville’s only returning starter from last season, had a team-high 17 tackles against Har-Ber, including nine solo. Defensive back Nick Gneiting had 15 tackles and Ben Nichols had 12.

Furthermore, Gneiting and Dakota Baggett each had an interception and Flowers forced a fumble — it was recovered by Trey Carter — on Har-Ber’s first play of its first possession.

“The defense gave great effort all night,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said Friday night. “It looked like they wanted to get to the football really bad.

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

Jones said Bentonville’s defense did a lot of things well against Har-Ber, including making necessary tackles and not giving up any big plays.

But Jones, who credited Bentonville’s defensive coaches for a good game plan, said he couldn’t completely reveal why the defense had so much success.

“It’s a secret,” Jones said. “I can’t really say anything; it’s something we’ll probably use again in the playoffs.”

Other POW nominees:

w T.C. Barkey, Springdale High — Barkey rushed for 71 yards and caught eight passes for 50 yards, including the game-winning touchdown with nine seconds left in the game. The victory assured the Red’Dogs their second straight playoff berth.

w Kiehl Frazier, Shiloh Christian — The junior quarterback threw for five touchdowns and ran for another in the first half in a blowout victory over Farmington. The victory gave Shiloh Christian its fifth straight conference championship.

• Cody Stevens and Wilson Phillips, Huntsville — Stevens passed for 166 yards and two touchdowns and Phillips rushed for 123 yards to help give the Eagles their second straight playoff berth.

• Reed Brown and Zac Stewart, Rogers Heritage — Stewart rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns while Brown threw for 243 yards and threw more touchdowns in a blowout victory over Fayetteville.

• Thomas Soehner, Prairie Grove — Prairie Grove’s running back rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns and caught another scoring pass in the Tigers’ upset win over Gravette.

• Ethan Rhine, Pea Ridge — Rhine threw for 58 yards, rushed for 69 more and scored three rushing touchdowns to help lift the Blackhawks past Berryville 30-12.

• Robert Teague, Elkins — Teague completed seven passes for two touchdowns to lead the Elks to their third victory in the 3A-1 Conference.

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