The Booneville Junior High Bearcats got four first half turnovers and led 26-6 on the way to a 34-14 win over Prairie Grove Thursday night at Bearcat Stadium.
The Bearcats (1-0) also got a pair of touchdown passes and a scoring run from Drake Brackney to build that lead.
The first turnover, an Edwin Garcia interception, thwarted a game opening drive after the Tigers kept the ball for 11 plays to start the game, draining 6:43 from the clock in the process.
Garcia returned the interception from six yards deep in the end zone to the Tiger 40 and the Bearcats would see a penalty flag wipe out an Aiden Rhinehart touchdown run and were still at the Tiger 39 with a second-and-9 when the second quarter began.
It would be a 26 point quarter by the Bearcats and a 32 point outburst in total.
Cooper Smithson picked up 9 and a first down to start the quarter and Drake Brackney ran 30 yards for the first points of the season with 7:14 left in the first half. Garcia added a conversion run for an 8-0 advantage.
Ascher Penny (57, shown), who had six total tackles, made a tackle on the kickoff then recovered a fumble at the Tiger 15 to set up a Rhinehart touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 6:21 left in the half.
Prairie Grove answered with a 48-yard scoring run but Chase Posey, who had a sack and seven total tackles, combined with Karson Tillery to stop a conversion attempt to keep it 14-6.
Smithson returned the kickoff to the Tiger 27 and the Bearcats, after a negative play got a 32-yard Brackney to Toby Weaver touchdown pass to go back up by two scores at 20-6.
A Brackney interception led to the lead growing to 26-6 as he connected with Smithson on back to back throws for 44 yards and a touchdown to make it 26-6 with 29 seconds left in the half.
Garcia had his second interception 5 seconds before halftime.
Things got sloppy in the second half as the teams combined to put the ball on the ground 10 times.
The half began with a promising Bearcat drive that ended in a fumble, which was followed by Tillery recovering a Tiger fumble, and the Bearcats losing another fumble to make it three turnovers in four plays.
The Bearcats did eventually add to their lead when Garcia went 47 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the third quarter. Garcia’s second conversion run made it 34-6.
The Tigers would cut the deficit to 34-14 with 3:43 to play.
The Bearcats will be home again next week taking on Ozark at 7 p.m.
BEARCAT TURN TURNOVERS INTO BIG LEAD, BEAT PRAIRIE GROVE IN OPENER
