Bentonville wasn’t flashy, but the Tigers didn’t need to be in a 38-14 mercy-rule win against Rogers Heritage on Friday.

The Tigers (7-2, 5-1 7A-West) scored on all five first-half possessions, and added a defensive touchdown to built a 38-0 halftime lead. Heritage scored two late touchdowns against a running clock, both set up by Bentonville turnovers.

With the win, Bentonville is in line to share the 7A-West Conference title, but still likely finishes no higher than third in the conference playoff seedings due to point differentials with Fayetteville and Springdale Har-Ber. This likely means for the first time since byes were instituted into the Arkansas playoff format, Bentonville will not get a first-round bye for the first round of the state playoffs in two weeks.

The Tigers finish the regular season at home against its new rival, Bentonville West, a program that has shocked the 7A-West by not only earning a playoff berth in its inaugural season, but the Wolverines will be hosting a playoff game after wrapping up the No. 4 seed with a win over Rogers High on Friday.

“I like the way our kids are playing right now,” Tigers coach Jody Grant said. “I think we’re peaking at the right time.”
