LAWTON, Okla. -- Lawton (Okla.) Eisenhower, playing its first game under new coach Danny Edelman, gave Fayetteville a serious threat Friday before the Bulldogs survived in the end with a 45-38 win at Cameron Stadium.
Quarterback Bentley Bross completed 23 of 33 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns to give Fayetteville all it wanted.
Fayetteville 45
Eisenhower 38
Fayetteville^3^14^14^14^—^45
Ike^8^9^14^7^—^38
How They Scored
First Quarter
Fay — Conway 33 FG, 8:09.
Ike — Bussey 54 pass from Bross (Bross pass to Spratt.), 3:00.
Second Quarter
Ike — Blowe 30 FG, 8:25.
Ike — McGee 2 run (run failed), 4:34.
Fay — Lockett 65 kickoff return (Conway kick), 8:12.
Fay — O’Grady 9 pass from Lindsey (Conway kick), 0:59.
Third Quarter
Fay — O’Grady 20 pass from Powell (Conway kick), 8:22.
Ike — Bussey 17 pass from Bross (Blowe kick), 6:30.
Fay — Morris 56 pass from Powell (Conway kick), 5:36.
Ike — Spratt 29 pass from Bross (Blowe kick), 0:25.
Fourth Quarter
Fay — Rock 29 run (Conway kick), 5:50.
Fay — Rock 2 run (Conway kick), 1:45.
Ike — Douglas 4 run (Blowe kick), 0:08.
In the end it was an amazing bounce on a fumbled kickoff return and a couple of catches from Fayetteville tight end C.J. O'Grady that made the six-hour bus trip a little easier for the visitors to take.
The first big break came right after Ike had taken an 11-3 lead midway through the second quarter when up back Malik Lockett came up fast to grab a short kickoff and let the ball bounce on the turf. Amazingly it came right back into his arms and his slight hesitation caused the Eagles to converge on the ball and when he finally gained control all that remained was the artificial turf between him and the goal-line. He quickly completed the 65-yard touchdown scamper and the visitors had closed to within one point at 11-10. To their credit, the heavy underdog Eagles came right back when Floyd McAllister stepped in front of a Bulldogs' passing attempt and intercepted right near midfield. The Eagles needed nine plays to score with Andrew McGee getting the touchdown on a short burst over the left side of the line. Andrew Blowe, who had earlier nailed a 30-yard field goal for Ike, tacked on the PAT.
That's when O'Grady, an a 6-6 tight end who would make any college recruiter drool, took over the game for his club. With just a few minutes left in the first half the Bulldogs quickly moved downfield from the Ike 42 on some big passes from quarterback Jack Lindsey who split time with Taylor Powell most of the night.
The final toss was just a perfect nine-yard lob pass to O'Grady who simply reached up and caught the ball as the smaller Eagle defensive backs could do little to stop him.
"We knew he was going to be a challenge for our small defensive backs to cover, so we tried to double him all night and give it our best," Ike defensive coordinator Maurice Mayfield said. "We won a few against him but he's a big-time player who you will be seeing in college. But the great thing our guys never backed off, whenever they gave up a big play we came back and made some of our own.
"We had a couple of interceptions and we made them work for their scores. We did get tired and that's when the cramps started causing us concerns, but we sent other guys out there and they did the job."
But right after the halftime break, in which almost the entire Ike starting unit spent stretching and downing fluids in the locker room, the Bulldogs struck again as this time it was Powell who laid the ball up perfectly to O'Grady to cap a 20-yard touchdown play at the opposite end of Cameron Stadium.
Terrance Rock scored two touchdowns for Fayetteville in the fourth quarter to help put the game out of reach.
Extra Points
• Lawton Eisenhower has an enrollment of just over 1,200, which would be Class 6A in Arkansas.
• Fayetteville's defense won with a bend, but don't break mentality, allowing 472 yards Friday. The Bulldogs gave up 368 yards passing, but just 104 yards rushing.
• The Purple'Dogs finished with 473 total yards of offense in the season opener.
Up Next:Fayetteville returns home for a showdown with North Little Rock. Hooten's Arkansas Football has the Bulldogs ranked No. 2 in Class 7A and the Charging Wildcats No. 3. North Little Rock opened its season witha 17-7 win against Little Rock Catholic on Thursday.
Sports on 09/06/2014