Fayetteville was efficient in its season-opening victory last Friday against Lawton (Okla.) Eisenhower.
The Bulldogs, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's No. 1 team in the state and in Class 7A, scored eight touchdowns in eight possessions in the first half in a 58-6 rout of Eisenhower.
"That's what we wanted," Fayetteville Coach Daryl Patton said. "They just delivered."
Junior quarterback Taylor Powell, who has received a scholarship offer from Arkansas State, completed 15 of 19 passes for 216 yards and 4 touchdowns.
"Taylor is really, really good," Patton said. "He played like he was capable of. He distributed the ball."
Despite their top receiver Tyson Morris missing Friday's game with a foot injury, the Bulldogs had eight different receivers record at least one catch.
Fayetteville is at North Little Rock today in a matchup of two of the top Class 7A teams in recent seasons. The Bulldogs took advantage of three turnovers in last year's 43-33 victory in Northwest Arkansas.
North Little Rock lost several top offensive stars from last season's team, including wide receiver K.J. Hill and running back D.J. Brown, but Patton isn't letting down.
"Across their chest is North Little Rock," Patton said. "They're very athletic. They're very well-coached. They're going to fight, scratch and claw."
The Charging Wildcats were led by junior running back Alex Day with 181 rushing yards and 1 touchdown last week in a 32-25 overtime loss to Little Rock Catholic at the new Charging Wildcats Stadium.
Patton compares Alex Day to his brother Juan, who graduated from North Little Rock after the 2013 season and is now at the University of Arkansas. He said Juan was bigger than Alex, but both players are hard-nosed runners.
"[Alex] is a tough downhill runner," Patton said. "He's got great speed. He was very hard to bring down last week."
After today's game, Fayetteville hosts Muskogee, Okla., next Friday before entering 7A-West Conference play Sept. 25 at Fort Smith Northside.
MARION
Turning corner?
Marion didn't win a game until Week 7 last season against Mountain Home under first-year Coach Jed Davis, but the Patriots didn't have to wait long for their first victory in 2015.
Junior running back Tom Young rushed for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns on 13 carries to help Class 6A Marion beat Wynne, last year's Class 5A state runner-up, 26-23 at home last Friday.
Young's 32-yard run with 11:31 left was the difference in the Patriots' second victory under Davis, who came to Marion in 2014 from Class 3A Mayflower.
Davis saw the improvement of his team in their Class 6A first-round playoff loss at El Dorado and it carried over into the offseason.
"We started playing better football," said Davis, whose Patriots were 1-10 in 2014. "We started telling kids in the offseason, you saw the improvement. Imagine how bigger our improvement can be if we put in a solid nine months of work.
"The kids bought in. The coaches bought in. It started to snowball from there."
Marion will travel to Jonesboro today to face Class 5A Nettleton. The Patriots haven't dealt with prosperity often in recent years, so Davis is guarding against a letdown.
"We don't want to get complacent," Davis said. "It was a great win. But it's time for Week 2. We have to get our minds right."
WEST MEMPHIS
Hall of Fame induction set
Eight former West Memphis athletes will be inducted into the West Memphis Sports Hall of Fame later this month.
Former NBA players Keith Lee, Michael Cage and Marcus Brown highlight the eight-member class. Arkansas State's all-time leading scorer, rebounder and assist leader Sonja Tate, former University of Arkansas football player Lewis Carpenter, former NFL players Ike Harris, Reginald Jones and Mike McCoy along with former West Memphis boys' basketball coach Bill Terwilliger also will be inducted.
Lee and Cage were part of the Blue Devils' 60-game winning streak in the early 1980s under Terwilliger.
A banquet will be held Sept. 24 at Southland Park in West Memphis. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the West Memphis School District's administrative office and through the West Memphis Chamber of Commerce.
The eight inductees also will be honored at halftime of the Blue Devils' home game Sept. 25 against Marion.
LR SCHOOL DISTRICT
Hall game moved
Today's Mills-Little Rock Hall game that was scheduled to be played at Scott Field has been moved to Quigley Stadium in Little Rock.
The Little Rock School District said in a news release Thursday that there was a sprinkler malfunction at Scott Field, which is the home stadium for Class 6A Hall.
Thursday's ninth-grade game between Hall and Vilonia, also scheduled for Scott Field, was also moved to Quigley Stadium.
Little Rock Central, which plays its home games at Quigley Stadium, played Thursday night at Fort Smith Northside.
Sports on 09/11/2015