Pruitt, Vaughn Produce In Win

By Nathan Allen <a href="mailto:NALLEN@NWAONLINE.N
November 2, 2009

RESERVES PUNISH FAYETTEVILLE

SPRINGDALE — No Gordon Welch? No problem.

Springdale Har-Ber used the senior tandem of Houston Pruitt and Kaleb Vaughn on Friday night to produce a 25-point win over Fayetteville, the Wildcats’ biggest victory this season.

Welch, a junior running back, has been the focus of Har-Ber’s running attack this season, but coaches decided late last week he wouldn’t play aftersuffering a second-degree strain in his right shoulder against Fort Smith Southside.

Pruitt and Vaughn combined for 246 rushing yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run from Pruitt in the third quarter.

The e◊ort was good enough to name both seniors the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers Players of the Week.

“Houston kind of gave us a spark plug, and Kaleb ran hard in the end,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said after the game. “Early on, I thought (Vaughn) was kind of feeling his way through. You’re talking about moving a receiver to tailback in a power and counter run scheme.

“It just takes time, but being able to put Houston back there (helped). Once he got to the next level, he was gone.

That helped Kaleb out, and he really took over in the second half and pounded it in there.”

Normally, Pruitt has played in the defensive secondary this season and Vaughn has been a receiver. A few times, the Wildcats (9-0, 6-0 7A-West Conference) have included Pruitt on offense, letting him take direct snaps in their “Wildcat” formation.

But Friday was the first time both players were used in the backfield all game long, something Har-Ber desperately needed to keepits undefeated record intact.

“It’s a lot of fun because of being on defense the past few years,” Pruitt said. “You get on o◊ense more, and you’re eyes get real big. I just love being over there.”

P ruitt also caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Luther just before halftime to give the Wildcats a 20-14 lead. The play was a swing pass to the left flat, and Pruitt - using a running back’s mentality - went untouched down the sideline.

“I got it, and the line just cleared everybody out,” Pruitt said. “I saw the end zone and just ran full speed.”

Sports, Pages 10 on 11/02/2009