Benton earned the 6A West conference title Friday night as the Panthers outscored the Lake Hamilton Wolves 17-7 in the second half en route to a 31-20 win at Bank OZK Field.
The Panthers (6-3, 6-0) defeated Greenwood last week, the only other undefeated team in the conference, and they handed the Wolves (8-1, 5-1) their first loss to secure the conference championship.
With the score knotted at 14-14 at halftime, Benton junior Bryan Arajuo split the uprights on a 38-yard field goal with 6:13 on the clock pushing the Panthers to 17-14.
Benton's defense held the Wolves back on Lake Hamilton's next possession to force a turnover.
Junior quarterback Garret Brown then connected with Gavin Wells with just 58 seconds remaining in the third as the junior Panther target completed a 14-yard passing touchdown to mark the score 24-14, where it remained going into the fourth frame.
Lake Hamilton responded at the 6:48 mark on a 12-play drive when sophomore Owen Miller dashed into the end zone for a 2-yard rushing score. Benton blocked the kick leaving the spread at 24-20.
The Wolves came up short after another Benton score by Harper with 12 seconds left in the game. The Panthers' PAT by Arajuo was good.
Following a 10-play drive in the first quarter by Lake Hamilton that ended in a turnover over downs, the Panthers failed to hold on to the ball as senior Garrett Lynch recovered a fumble for the Wolves on the Panthers' 18.
The hosts went on to cap a 10-play, 53-yard drive when sophomore Tevin Woodley zipped into the endzone from the 2, putting the Wolves on the board first with an early 7-0 edge with 1:16 remaining on the first-quarter clock.
The Panthers answered with two back-to-back passing touchdowns in the second quarter including a 45-yard pass from Brown to Wells that was brought in by sophomore Jaden Nash to tie things up 7-7, and a 48 yard pass for a score from Brown to senior Peyton Hudgins awarding Benton a 14-7 lead with 4:44 remaining in the first half.
With 11 seconds left in the first half, Miller ran the ball in from the 6 to knot the score after the PAT.
Sports on 11/02/2019