Allen throws 5 TDs in Fayetteville rout

By Paul Boyd

Posted: November 4, 2011 at 11:59 p.m.

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ROGERS — Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton cautioned his team about its slow start Friday night, but the Purple Bulldogs used a strong second half to pull away from Rogers Heritage for a 49-8 victory in the regular-season finale.

Fayetteville (8-2, 5-2 in 7A-West) finishes in a three-way tie for second in the conference but will be the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and will host Little Rock Catholic next week in the first round.

“We weren’t real sharp, kind of hit and miss,” Patton said. “I was worried about that. It was a situation where we knew we were going to be the fourth seed. But the kids bounced back in the second half and played well.”

Quarterback Austin Allen was big for Fayetteville, completing 20 of 32 passes for 285 yards and five touchdowns to five different receivers.

But Allen said getting the running game going late in the first half and early in the second half was key.

“It keeps the (defensive) linemen guessing so they can’t just tee off,” Allen said. “It helps. We didn’t come out the way we wanted to but it’s a good way to go out before the playoffs.”

Allen helped the Purple Bulldogs put the game away with two touchdown passes sandwiched around a big tackle-breaking touchdown run by junior Cole Harris in a five-minute stretch midway through the second half.

Allen capped a short drive aided by a shanked Heritage punt with a 15-yard scoring strike to Brad Culp with 1 minute, 14 seconds left in the third quarter.

Harris scored on a 35-yard touchdown run, after another Heritage three-and-out early in the fourth quarter. Allen then put the mercy rule in play with a 62-yard touchdown pass down the sideline to Casey Perry with 9:17 left in the fourth quarter.

Even though it took Fayetteville’s offense a little time to find a rhythm, the Purple Bulldogs defense made the going tough for Heritage (1-9, 0-7) all night.

The War Eagles finished with 62 yards of total offense, including minus-59 yards rushing.

Heritage coach Perry Escalante said his team played solid defensively early, but was forced to stay on the field way too long.

“At the half, somebody said our defense was on the field 46 or 47 snaps,” Escalante said. “We were on the field too long. They just wore us down. On offense, we couldn’t get them blocked. They were bringing five or six. They just lined up and ran right by us.”

Heritage’s lone score came after a bad snap on a punt by Fayetteville gave the War Eagles a short field. Quarterback Josh Qualls completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Forrest Johnson to pull the War Eagles within 25-8 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.

Gamebreaker

Purple Bulldogs 49, War Eagles 8

Why The Purple Bulldogs won

Quarterback Austin Allen completed 20 of 32 passes for 285 yards and five touchdowns.

Why The War Eagles lost

The War Eagles finished with just 62 yards of total offense and were unable to move the ball consistently against Fayetteville’s blitzing defense.

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