FAYETTEVILLE — Ryan Starr accepted the congratulatory hugs and high fives from Fayetteville teammates, coaches and classmates with a sheepish grin. A senior placekicker, Starr was the hero of the moment Friday when his 38-yard field goal with seven seconds left gave Fayetteville a 30-28 win against North Little Rock in the Class 7A semifinals. But for Starr, being involved in any pressure situations on the football field this season almost didn’t happen at all.
That Figures
10 — Successful field goals on 11 attempts this season by Fayetteville kicker Ryan Starr
25 — Seconds Fayetteville needed to regain the lead after falling behind 28-27 in fourth quarter
51 — Rushing yards for University of Alabama commit Altee Tenpenny against Fayetteville defense
Starr didn’t play football as a junior, instead focusing on soccer. But when Fayetteville lost graduated all-state kicker Max Coffin and faced a year with major inexperience at special teams, the call to return to football came.
Coaches, players and even friends pleaded with Starr to play football in his senior season, knowing he had one of the strongest kicking legs in the state. At first, Starr hesitated. But after Friday night, there’s no doubting the decision to return to football was the right move.
“I’m so happy to be a part of this,” Starr said. “To be with these guys, it’s so exciting.”
Starr has converted on 10 of 11 field goals this season, including a school-record long of 52 yards during Fayetteville’s 24-17 loss at Bentonville. Friday’s 38-yard game-winner was the first such kick of Starr’s career, although he admits he would have preferred the game not come down to his leg.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come down to that, but it did,” Starr said. “Everyone kept their cool and did their job, and that allowed me to do my job.
“It felt amazing, but there was still seven seconds left and we had to make sure the game was over before we could celebrate.”
Plays of the Night: Obviously Starr’s kick was the biggest play of the night for the Bulldogs, but there were others as well. Reese Fitchue blocked a North Little Rock punt on the first possession of the game, setting up Fayetteville’s first touchdown. Austin Allen’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Cole Harris in the second quarter also gave the Purple’Dogs some breathing room before intermission, and the Fayetteville defense came up with what turned out to be a key fourth down stop in the final two minutes on the possession before North Little Rock would eventually take a brief lead.
Injury Update: Fayetteville appears as healthy as it has been all season long.
Player of the Game: Starr not only kicked the 38-yard game winner, but also was good on field goals of 18 and 32 yards, scoring all nine Bulldogs points in the fourth quarter.
Notable: Fayetteville trailed for all of 25 seconds in Friday’s game. .. After falling behind 28-27 with 32 seconds left, Cole Harris returned the ensuing kickoff to the Bulldogs 43 with 27 seconds left. Allen then hit Brayden Cook for 11 yards and Jordan Dennis for 25 yards on back-to-back plays, setting up Starr’s game-winning kick with seven seconds left. ... Just before Starr lined up to attempt the go-ahead field goal, a North Little Rock fan threw a Gatorade spray bottle onto the field in Starr’s direction, forcing the Fayetteville kicker to momentarily delay his attempt.
The Lingo: “You could feel the momentum switching, but I’m proud of our kids. They hung in there, they fought and we’re celebrating right now.”
— DARYL PATTON
Fayetteville coach
Up Next: Bentonville vs. Fayetteville for another Class 7A state championship. This one’s the rubber match as the Tigers and Bulldogs are meeting in the state finals for the third year in a row with Bentonville winning in 2010 and Fayetteville winning the crown last year.
The 7A finals kick off at 6 p.m. Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.