Defense Corrals Conway

Fayetteville Shrugs Off Slow Start, Forces Mercy Rule

Taryll Henry, top, a Fayetteville senior defensive end, sacks Conway senior quarterback Cody Rhoades on Friday during the first half of play at Harmon Stadium.
Taryll Henry, top, a Fayetteville senior defensive end, sacks Conway senior quarterback Cody Rhoades on Friday during the first half of play at Harmon Stadium.

— The mission for the Fayetteville defense was simple. Attack Conway from all angles and keep the pressure on the Wampus Cats.

Mission accomplished.

GameBreaker

Fayetteville 38, Conway 17

Why the Bulldogs won

Fayetteville sacked Conway quarterback Cody Rhoades six times, recovered two fumbles late in the first half and held the Wampus Cats to 57 total yards before intermission. The Bulldogs also got a productive night from tailback Brice Gahagans, with 97 yards on 13 carries, and receiver Cole Harris, who had 120 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Why the Wampus Cats lost

Conway moved the ball well on its first possession but had little success on offense the rest of the game against Fayetteville’s starting defense. Running back Jeff Anderson rarely found open holes and the Wampus Cats watched a close 10-3 deficit turn into a rout with costly turnovers late in the second quarter.

Fayetteville swarmed the Conway running game all night long and made life for Wampus Cats quarterback Cody Rhoades miserable. From Brooks Ellis to Taryll Henry to Reese Fitchue to Alex Brignoni, the list of defenders who kept the mad rush going Friday against Conway seemed neverending as the Bulldogs swarmed the Wampus Cats in a 38-17 mercy-rule win in the Class 7A state quarterfinals at Harmon Stadium.

“They can’t focus on just one guy,” said Ellis, who had two of Fayetteville’s six sacks. “Everywhere they tried to run it, there was a great player to step up and make a play. So they just had to try to run it anyway they can.”

Conway (8-3) appeared ready to give Fayetteville a night of fits on its first possession, driving inside the Bulldogs’ 15 while consuming more than seven minutes off the first quarter clock. But Ellis ended the Wampus Cats first drive with a sack of Rhoades for a loss of 15 yards, forcing Conway to settle for a 44-yard field goal.

After that, Fayetteville’s defense would give up little else with its starters on the field.

The Bulldogs (8-3) jumped ahead 7-3 by the end of the first quarter on an Austin Allen 8-yard quarterback keeper, then broke the game open with a Ryan Starr 33-yard field goal and three touchdowns late in the second quarter — benefiting from two costly Conway fumbles — to take a 31-3 lead into the half.

“We turned it over twice, and I think both of them were inside the 25, and their offense is way too good to be turning the ball over like that,” said Clint Ashcraft, Wampus Cats coach. “You can’t turn it over against a team like that. They don’t need any help at all.”

Fayetteville forced the sportsmanship rule with 6:09 left in the third quarter when Allen found Cole Harris with a 4-yard TD pass for a 38-3 lead. All the while, the Bulldogs’ defense continued to dominate, holding the Wampus Cats to 70 total yards before turning to reserves for the final quarter and a half.

“Our defense played lights out,” said Daryl Patton, Fayetteville coach. “To hold that team to 3 points for three quarters is just an unbelievable job by our defense.”

Fayetteville will travel to North Little Rock (10-1) in the Class 7A semifinals.

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