SPRINGDALE — Austin Allen took the snap, dropped back and lobbed a 40-yard touchdown pass on the opening play against Bolivar, Mo.
Fayetteville’s four-star quarterback made 7-on-7 football look even easier than usual Friday, especially during what was supposed to be a quarterback duel against highly touted Bolivar passer Rafe Peavey.
Allen threw a pair of deep touchdown passes to Cole Harris in the 32-12 victory over Bolivar, highlighting an impressive first day for 7AWest Conference teams at the Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase at Shiloh Christian.
“I’m not surprised. I know the 7A-West,” Springdale Har-Ber Coach Chris Wood said. “Every Friday night our competition is at the highest level, and so coming in here and going up against really good teams, it doesn’t faze the West schools.”
Fayetteville and Rogers Heritage, led by a pair of highly sought quarterbacks in Allen and Josh Qualls, respectively, finished a perfect 7-0 during the opening day of the 7-on-7 tournament.
Har-Ber also won its first six games before running into Charleston sophomore quarterback Ty Storey, who showed why he is regarded as a big-time talent while leadingthe Tigers to a 25-16 victory over the Wildcats. Springdale High finished the day 5-2.
Still, several 7A-West teams head into today’s final day of the tournament looking to win the prestigious title.
“The 7A-West, year in and year out, is very, very wellcoached, has got great players and they play great football,” said Heritage Coach Perry Escalante, adding that he isn’t surprised by the conference’s showing Friday. “That mightbe surprising to people that we’re playing as well as we do, but I knew what our kids are capable of and so does our coaching staff.”
Escalante said Qualls had an outstanding day, particularly when it came to his decision-making. The junior threw only three interceptions in seven games, but two of those came on passes batted by his receivers.
“He just did a really good job of not throwing bad ballsand hitting the open receiver and getting good reads, reading the defense real well,” Escalante said.
Fayetteville entered the tournament as one of the favorites, thanks to three players who have already committed to Arkansas - Allen, linebacker Brooks Ellis and defensive back Alex Brignoni.
With Allen allowed to stand in the pocket and not have to worry about being sacked, the Bulldogs showed off their high-powered offense against Bolivar.
Allen found Harris for a 40-yard touchdown on the game’s first play, and they connected on another 40-yard touchdown a few minutes later.
“I thought Austin threw the ball extremely well,” Fayetteville Coach Daryl Patton said. “Cole Harris really kind of stood out. He’s a guy that might be a deep threat for us.”
Fayetteville’s biggest scare came in its first game of the afternoon, when it had to hold on to defeat Little Rock Central 18-16, but the Bulldogs didn’t have much trouble after that.
“I thought our kids competed and played really hard. I mean, they gave great effort” Patton said. “We brought 25 kids, and all 25, when they had their opportunity, played well.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 07/14/2012