FAYETTEVILLE — By most standards, Fayetteville football coach Daryl Patton takes 7-on-7 games more seriously than some of his other colleagues in the area.
He wants to win, not just watch his team compete. He even keeps statistics on his players in the summer, tracking their pass attempts, catches, touchdowns and interceptions.
After traveling as far as Nashville, Tenn., to compete against other teams, the Bulldogs are done with their 7-on-7 schedule. There are no more Monday night games to play or out-of-town tournaments to worry about.
For Patton, the past few weeks have allowed him to get a better look at his crop of talented wide receivers and gain confidence in his new-look defense. He also found more reasons to be excited about his highly touted quarterbacks — Brandon and Austin Allen.
“I’m very impressed with the competitiveness of our kids. I mean, we were 33-5-1 or whatever (our record in 7-on-7 games) was and we were in every ball game,” Patton said. “There was not one game we were blown out.
“A couple of them that we thought we might’ve been (blown out), but our kids fought, scratched, clawed, found a way to get back into it, give us a chance to win a ball game and that’s what you want to see. ... I think we grew up this summer.”
In particular, Fayetteville’s deep pool of wide receivers showed with its play in 7-on-7 games that the Bulldogs might have no shortage of targets to throw to in the fall.
Senior Drew Gorton led all receivers with 120 catches, and tight end Demetrius Dean scored a team-high 28 touchdowns. Meanwhile, wide receivers Troy Underwood, Brad Culp and Nathan Varady showed that they could have significant roles in Fayetteville’s wide-open offense.
“They’re more confident than they were in the spring,” Patton said, adding that he could use as many as 10 to 12 receivers this upcoming season.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt having the Allen brothers finding teammates open downfield and hitting them with deep balls. Fayetteville starter Brandon Allen, a three-star recruit who has already committed to Arkansas, completed 492 of 650 passes for 130 touchdowns to only nine interceptions this summer.
The senior’s impressive numbers come as no surprise. After all, he’s already broken several Fayetteville passing records and is regarded as one of the state’s top quarterbacks.
But Austin Allen is a bit more unknown.
The highly touted sophomore has yet to take a high school snap, but he showed off his strong arm and good decision-making while completing 104 of 142 passes for 23 touchdowns to only three interceptions.
“Brandon threw 650 passes; that’s 650 passes that (were) against defenses, against reading defenses, throwing with our receivers,” Patton said. “... Austin Allen, he got to throw 150 (passes) on Saturdays, weekend tournaments, not counting what he’s done on Mondays.
“So our quarterbacks, they’re going to leave the summer probably throwing 400 passes or more. And it’s going to do nothing but help those guys become better quarterbacks and our receivers become better receivers.”
Heading into the offseason, though, Patton had more concerns about his defense after watching his secondary give up too many big plays last season.
But new cornerback Colby Jordan showed he could make the adjustment from offense, and the Bulldogs’ improved secondary was good for at least one defensive stop during their 7-on-7 games. Meanwhile, sophomore Brooks Ellis had a team-high 13 interceptions.
“Seven-on-seven is important to us defensively because they’re getting the chance to go through our coverages, see passes thrown at them, learn how to break on the football, how to play in man-to-man situations,” Patton said. “Those are things that, boy, it’s going to be invaluable come football season.”