The Texas Tigers demolished the Tigers of Benton in a blowout victory 62-14 on Sept. 8, 2023.
The Benton Tigers came out early and scored within the first few minutes on a touchdown pass to take the 7-0 lead.
Texas countered immediately with junior quarterback David Potter completing a 72-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver TJ Gray with 10:06 remaining in the first, tying the game 7-7.
Sophomore Tradarian Ball tacked on his first touchdown of the night after a punt return with 8:38 remaining in the quarter.
The Tiger defense played lights out, with sophomore Duncan McGhee dropping the Benton quarterback with a sack.
The Texas offense held all momentum through the entirety of the first quarter. Sophomore Kameron Wrightner made his way into the endzone on first and goal, making the score 21-7 with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter.
Ball got a touchdown called back for a holding offense, but junior running back Jabari Johnson pulled through with three consecutive first-down runs. Johnson ultimately ran the ball in for a touchdown, but the kick came up no good, making the score 27-7 going into the second quarter. I think we had a really high effort in practice all week long and it showed here tonight. I think our level of execution is just continuing to grow, we are off to a good start. — Athletic Director Gerry Stanford
Within the opening minutes of the second quarter, Potter completed a long pass to senior receiver Brandon Hall for a touchdown, extending the lead to 34-7.
“I feel like this was one of those games that I had to really step up for my team,” Hall said. “I had to play more than one position tonight, I wasn’t just at receiver. I just did what I had to do.”
The majority of the second quarter went quiet for both offenses, the Texas defense stepped up for some big stops.
“I feel like I played pretty well tonight,” senior Trystan Powell said. “I feel like I came up with a lot of good plays and got a lot of good tackles in the backfield.”
Potter completed a long pass to Gray, getting the ball spotted at the two-yard line. Ball ran the two yards for a touchdown on the following play, making the score 41-7 with 3:42 remaining in the half.
With less than a minute in the half, Potter completed back-to-back passes to Hall, moving the Tigers downfield, and the second for a touchdown to close out the half 48-7 in favor of Texas.
After a thirty-minute lightning delay after halftime, the Tigers took the field to receive the kickoff.
Potter completed another touchdown pass to Hall with 9:10 remaining in the third quarter to make the score 55-7.
Benton answered with a touchdown of their own after taking the risk on fourth down. The score was 55-14 with 6:36 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers stayed on the gas offensively, tacking on another touchdown from junior Keylan Nash, increasing the Texas lead to 62-14 at the end of the third.
The score remained unchanged through the fourth quarter, with Texas winning with a final score of 62-14.
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