Article by Ronald Richardson for White River Now
The Batesville Pioneers controlled the ball and the clock to become the only lower-seeded team to win a Class 5A playoff game by defeating the Prairie Grove Tigers at Prairie Grove.
The Tigers got on the scoreboard near the end of the first quarter to take a 6-0 lead. The Pioneers would answer in the second quarter with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Rhett McDonald to Jace Jeffrey.
The Pioneers would score again with less than three minutes to play on the half when Holden Hutchins rumbled in the end zone from four yards out. Prairie Grove would tie the game with just 12 seconds left in the half.
The Pioneers took the opening kickoff of the third half and chew up eight minutes and 55 seconds of the 12-minute quarter, capped off by a one-yard Hutchins touchdown run and a 21-14 lead.
Prairie Grove answered quickly but failed on a game-tying two-point attempt, and the Pioneers lead 21-20 after the third quarter.
The Pioneer offense continued to eat up the clock and keep the ball away from the Tigers, and the final score came on an 11-yard run from Gentry Moody on a crucial fourth down play. Aldo Gallardo made his fourth extra point of the night, kicking into a strong wind, to set the final score.
The Pioneers got big performances from McDonald, Hutchins, Moody, Jeffery, and Boston Hall on the offensive side of the ball, and the Pioneer defense held Prairie Grove 20 points under their season scoring average.
The Pioneers will travel to Little Rock on Friday to take on the Joe T. Robinson Senators, the number one seed out of the 5A Central and the top-ranked team in every Class 5A poll. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
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