MUSKOGEE, OKLA. — Daryl Patton expects his Fayetteville football team will be in plenty of tight ball games this season. Thanks to a furious Muskogee rally Friday, the Bulldogs now have a little practice on how to survive a close call.
Despite a sluggish night on offense, Fayetteville was in total control for the better part of three quarters thanks to a defense which was having its way with the Roughers.
Everything changed quickly.
A 20-point Bulldogs lead was erased, as Muskogee would score two touchdowns in a 55-second span while benefitting from an onside kick in the process. A seemingly easy win was suddenly a nailbiter, with Muskogee driving into Fayetteville territory with under three minutes to play. But just when things appeared in doubt, the Purple’Dogs defense reclaimed control and forced a Roughers punt with two minutes to play to preserve a 27-22 win at the Indian Bowl.
“We needed something probably like this,” Fayetteville coach Patton said. “I thought we had a lackadaisical week of practice, very none intense, and I thought we played kind of that way.
“When you’re up 27-7 in the fourth quarter you’ve got to put them away. But we made some stupid plays and they made some great plays. Hats off to coach (Josh) Blakenship and Muskogee. They’re much better than they were a year ago and we’re fortunate to be coming out of here with a win.”
Fayetteville (3-0) had just 153 total yards in the first half, but held Muskogee to 83 yards by intermission in building a 17-0 lead. A quick Roughers fumble in the third quarter led to a Mitch Marshall to Blake Power 18-yard touchdown pass and a 24-0 Bulldogs lead.
But Muskogee (0-3) didn’t quit.
“We had a chance there in the end, and we still feel like it was a missed opportunity,” Blankenship said. “But at the same time I’m extremely proud. A lot of losing has been happening here for a couple of years now and we could have easily hung our heads.”
EXTRA POINTS:
Tailback Brayden Cook had another big night on the ground, rushing for 140 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries. But Cook suffered what appeared to be an ankle injury on his last carry of the game late in the fourth quarter.
Senior wide receiver/cornerback Jordan Dennis travelled with the team but did not dress out Friday. Dennis suffered a concussion in last week’s win against Jefferson City, Mo. and was not cleared to play. He could return next week.
Mitch Marshall went the first 10 quarters of the season without throwing an interception. The Fayetteville starting quarterback finally threw his first interception of the year with 9 minutes, 21 seconds left in the third quarter on Friday.
Fayetteville is 3-0 in nonconference for the first time since 2011. The Bulldogs went 1-2 in the first three weeks last season.
UP NEXT: The Purple’Dogs open 7A/6A-West Conference play at Van Buren. Fayetteville defeated the Pointers last season, 27-13, at Harmon Stadium.
HOW THEY SCORED
FAYETTEVILLE 27, MUSKOGEE, Okla. 22
Fay^3^14^7^3^—^27
Musk^0^0^7^15^—^22
First Quarter
Fay — FG Conway 26, 7:14
Second Quarter
Fay — Tyson 5 run (Fagg kick), 8:36
Fay — Cook 1 run (Conway kick), :42.2
Third Quarter
Fay — Power 18 pass from Marshall (Fagg kick), 11:39
Musk — Cherry 1 run (Soper kick), 6:19
Fourth Quarter
Fay — FG Conway 42, 11:06
Musk — Beasley 33 run (Taylor run), 9:47
Musk — Vanhook 44 pass from Cherry (Soper kick), 8:52