Football: Bulldogs Show Strides Throughout Season

 STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Dre Greenlaw, Fayetteville senior wide receiver, makes a reception over Bentonville junior defensive back Kary Collier in the 7A championship game on Dec. 6 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Dre Greenlaw, Fayetteville senior wide receiver, makes a reception over Bentonville junior defensive back Kary Collier in the 7A championship game on Dec. 6 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

FAYETTEVILLE -- A scoring drive in the closing minutes by a championship team was all that stood in the way of another state title for Fayetteville.

Despite the heartache of Saturday's 24-21 loss to Bentonville in the Class 7A finals, however, Bulldogs' coach Daryl Patton looks back on the completed season and takes pride in the accomplishments and growth shown throughout the course of the year.

Fayetteville Bulldogs

Date^Opponent^Time

Sept. 5^at Lawton (Okla.) Eisenhower^W, 45-38

Sept. 12^North Little Rock^W, 43-33

Sept. 19^at Muskogee, Okla.^W, 24-10

Sept. 26^Fort Smith Northside*^L, 27-24

Oct. 3^at Fort Smith Southside*^W, 7-0

Oct 10^Springdale High*^W, 49-21

Oct. 17^Springdale Har-Ber*^W, 49-20

Oct. 24^at Rogers Heritage*^W, 51-16

Oct. 31^Rogers High*^W, 45-7

Nov. 7^at Bentonville*^L, 45-2

Class 7A State Playoffs

Nov. 14^Cabot^W, 35-14

Nov. 21^at Conway^W, 42-35

Nov. 28^at Fort Smith Southside^W, 56-14

Dec. 6^Bentonville^L, 24-21

* — Denotes 7A-West Conference game

"We had a couple of chances on that last (Bentonville game-winning drive) for some sacks, but they ran the ball well and made the plays," Patton said. "But I'm awfully proud of our kids.

"I firmly believed we were going to get the ball back and make a play and somehow kick a field goal. It didn't work out, but there's 14 other teams in Class 7A who would love to be in our place."

Fayetteville (11-3) hit several highs and lows during the season, as a senior-laden defense meshed with a offense sorting out the kinks with inexperience at several positions. The Bulldogs made noise early with a 43-33 win against No. 1-ranked North Little Rock in week 2, then hit a wall with a 27-24 loss at home to Fort Smith Northside to open conference play in Week 4.

The offense, with quarterbacks Taylor Powell and Jack Lindsey both getting their turns under center, began to improve throughout the conference season until the Week 10 matchup with Bentonville. A 45-2 loss against the Tigers forced Fayetteville to regroup before the playoffs.

Patton was excited with how this year's group bounced back despite the lopsided loss in the regular season finale.

"Very proud of our seniors," Patton said. "Last year we bowed out in the first round and that was something we were not used to. I think a lot of our kids were embarrassed, hurt and upset. And they really came to work each and every day.

"We had a large group of seniors, started with 44 and ended with 42 and we continued to work and get better. And when we got to the playoffs we were playing as well as anyone around."

The Bulldogs must replace several key players of this state runner-up team. All-state selections Damani Carter and Dre Greenlaw anchored the defense. Miles Taliaferro, Ridley Weeks and Ian Jackson will also graduate on the defensive side.

Offensively, replacing Arkansas commit C.J. O'Grady at tight end and a pair of starters on the offensive line will be a priority.

Fayetteville also returns a wealth of talent at the same time. Powell emerged as the top quarterback in the playoffs. Running backs Luke Rapert and Terrance Rock will be back, and all of Fayetteville's wide receiving corps -- led by Garland Allison, Tyson Morris and Bruce Armstrong, are set to return.

"I don't feel like we're going away," Patton said. "You look at our ninth grade program and we had a team playing for the championship and another playing for third place. So we've got a lot of talent coming up.

"Our sophomore team was 7-2, our JV team was 8-1. They've won a lot of games and they've got that fight in them. So there's a lot to like about next year's team. But the main thing is they've got to learn from this group that just came through, about work ethic, leadership and putting the team first."

Sports on 12/11/2014

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