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Friday, October 3, 2008
Bentonville, Baggett Pick Off No. 1 Southside
Western Arkansas, AR
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By: Mike Capshaw
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Photo(s) By: Will Flowers
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“He’s a very good corner,” I know a lot of times, receivers look out there as a mismatch because he’s not real tall, but he’s got a good vertical and is a 300 meter hurdler … He knows how to finish. That’s a tough race.”
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BENTONVILLE — No. 2 Bentonville’s defense shined again and no star was brighter than Chase Baggett, who had three interceptions in the 14-7 win against No. 1 Fort Smith Southside.
Baggett ran away with the VYPE Impact Player of the Game honors. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior’s second interception led to what proved to be the game-winning touchdown and then, late in the fourth quarter, Baggett’s third pick stopped the Rebels on one of their final drives.
Baggett’s last interception came on fourth and long, a situation when defensive backs are usually taught to bat down deep passes because your team is going to take over on downs at the line of scrimmage anyway.
But Baggett wanted to ensure 6-2 Rebels receiver Chase Dixon had zero chance of coming down with the ball. Dixon already had a pair of 13-yard catches on the drive that saw Southside threatening with several tough four-yard runs by Daniel McGee.
“I just wanted to make sure that (Dixon) didn’t get it,” Baggett said. “I really did not want him to catch that ball and I figured, if I catch it, how can we lose.”
Lunney was happy to get away with a win against what he called “ a very good football team” several times. He won four state titles at Southside and Friday’s win was the 175th of his career.
“If it had been down the hill (at Southside), it might have been a different story,” Lunney Sr. said. “Tonight, we came out on top.”
The Tigers were without quarterback JC King, who was sidelined with back spasms. In his place, Pearson Gean picked up plenty of yards with timely passing and running the ball against a strong Southside defense.
“We planned on doing what we did last week (a 31-3 win against Fayetteville) and using them both, so it limited us a little bit,” Lunney Sr. said. “But that’s ball. People get hurt. You’ve got to put somebody in there to play.”
Southside coach Jeff Williams said Bentonville’s defense was the best he’s seen this season, with his own being a close second. Tigers' scoring drives went just 49 and 17 yards.
“We made mistakes in situations and they didn’t,” said Southside coach Jeff Williams. “Their kids made the plays they had to do to win, but I thought our kids played extremely hard.
“They are pretty good on defense, but we’re pretty good on defense also.”
The Tigers’ fourth interception came on 4th and 18 and another desperation heave by Southside quarterback Trent Welbern was intercepted by Bentonville’s Zac Barczewski in the final minute to end the upset.
“He’s a very good corner,” I know a lot of times, receivers look out there as a mismatch because he’s not real tall, but he’s got a good vertical and is a 300 meter hurdler … He knows how to finish. That’s a tough race.”
A 16-yard run by Gean set up his own one-yard touchdown that gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 9 minutes, 7 seconds remaining in the first half. It capped off a 49-yard drive.
Baggett picked off his second pass of the game and returned it 55 yards to the Southside 17-yard line. That allowed Gean to complete a 7-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Taylor Lyles to make it 14-0 with 31 seconds remaining in the first half.
Warren 23-yard run, then fumbled on next carry.
“We just kind of go with the hot guy,” Williams said. “Both him and Daniel ran well, but they are very, very good defensively.”
On 3rd 2 from the Bentonville 37, Baggett led the charge to stop McGee. Drove him back some 20 yards and then Baggett helped him up after helping plant him on his back.
Southside’s Anthony Warren raced untouched for a 31-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7 with 3:29 remaining in the third quarter.
After a Bentonville punt, Southside took over at its own 22 with 7 minutes remaining in the game. A couple of penalties, four runs by McGee and a pair of catches Dixon moved the ball to the Bentonville 38.
But the Tigers tightened up with Rob Farrell sacking Welbern for a five-yard loss. Then Welbern was stopped for no gain on the next play before an offsides penalty forced the fourth and long to set the stage for Baggett’s final pick that all but sealed the win.
“That’s the way our defense plays,” Baggett said. “We go out and play aggressive and play smart.
“When we play together, that’s the way we play.”
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| RebsFan - 1:02 pm CDT on Mon, Oct 6 | report profanity/abuse |
|  | Running on a 3rd and 16 and I wonder why Southside lost that game. Did I miss a coaching change or something I did not know that Houston Nutt dropped down to high school ball. Great job Defense and Offense for Southside and shame on you coaches. |
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