NW Democrat-Gazette

Bell, Kattich find different scoring ways

RICK FIRES

Bentonville West showed why coaches rarely fail to mention the importance of special teams when asked about their chance of success heading into any game.

The Wolverines scored three touchdowns on special teams en route to a 55-7 victory over Rogers Heritage in 7A-West Conference play. Nick Bell returned the second half kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown after he picked up a blocked punt in the first half and ran 22 yards for a score. He also caught a pass at receiver from quarterback Jake Casey that went for 44 yards and a touchdown.

“We spend a lot of time and effort on special teams,” Bentonville West Coach Bryan Pratt said. “That’s a phase of the game that a lot of people don’t put emphasis on like we do. When you get some scores on special teams, it’s a dagger.”

For his effort, Bell is the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Week for teams in Northwest Arkansas. Darryl Kattich of Cedarville is the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Week for teams in the River Valley.

Bentonville West dominated all phases of the game against Rogers Heritage one week after winning a 46-45 shootout over Springdale Har-Ber. Braden Jones got the Wolverines started against Rogers Heritage when he returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

“We were in a dog fight last week against Har-Ber,” Bell said. “We knew that we wanted to take every opportunity and make the most of it. Our team puts a big emphasis on special teams, so I just was doing my part.”

Kattich had another huge game to lead Cedarville to its first win against Greenland since 2009.

The senior all-state performer scored five touchdowns and piled up 330 all-purpose yards in the 4912 victory over Greenland. He rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and caught four passes for 113 yards and three touchdowns.

Kattich is first in Class 3A and second overall in the state with 1,354 yards rushing. He ran for at least 200 yards for the ninth time and needs just 82 yards to surpass 5,000 yards rushing for his career.

“Darryl is the most durable , competitive player I have coached,” Cedarville coach Max Washausen said. “He’s a powerful runner with great vision. The way Greenland was aligned, we were able to use him in the passing game.”

Football

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2021-10-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.nwaonline.com/article/282381222756101

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