FAYETTEVILLE -- The only thing Fayetteville defensive back Trey Coulter could kick himself over Friday was not hauling in an interception in the fourth quarter of the Bulldogs' 46-21 Class 7A semifinal victory over Bentonville.
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He did get a hand on the pass, which was a theme for the senior on the night. He blocked two Bentonville extra-point attempts and a punt as Fayetteville advance to its third consecutive state championship game.
Thanks largely to the push from defensive linemen Akial Byers and Daniel Willits, Coulter rushed the middle of the line from his second-level position and knock down the two PATs.
"I've blocked kicks before this season. It's our scheme," Coulter said. "Our special teams coach schemes it up real nice. [Byers and Willits] open it up for me and the other safety to get through, and it's up to us to go make the play."
Bentonville led Fayetteville 12-3 after Coulter's second block in the second quarter. After that, Fayetteville's offense took control of the game and grabbed an 18-15 lead at halftime. Quarterback Taylor Powell led Fayetteville on a scoring drive early in the third quarter to push the advantage to 25-15, then Coulter came up with another special teams gem with a punt block.
"Blocking kicks is an effort play, and they didn't take those plays off," Bentonville Coach Jody Grant said. "In the kicking game, some teams just go through the motions and don't realize how valuable that is. They block those early kicks and then they block the punt and that was uncharacteristic of us, but that opened our eyes to some things that every play counts."
Coulter's punt block was recovered by Fayetteville's Luke Waller at the Bentonville 25. Moments later, Powell scrambled from the pocket and found a wide open Barrett Banister for a touchdown.
"He's just got a knack for it," Fayetteville Coach Bill Blankenship said. "We're going to look back and look at a couple of those key plays like that that kind of hide under the radar."
Coulter said special teams play was a big emphasis in practice throughout the week, and he was quick to give special teams coach Tim Miller credit.
"At Fayetteville, we know special teams is really important," Coulter said. "Again, we've got a really great special teams coach, and we talked about it all week."
Defensive back Blake Coulter was excited to see his brother come up big.
"I don't get to go [after punts]. I've got to go cover," he said while grinning. "We've blocked a lot of kicks this year -- a lot of punts -- and scored off of them."
With the victory, Fayetteville avenges its regular-season loss to the Tigers and will face North Little Rock in War Memorial Stadium on Friday. Making the trip to central Arkansas never gets old for the Coulters.
"It's expected. We're expected to go to Little Rock," Trey Coulter said. "It's just what the coaches expect.
"If we didn't make it to Little Rock it would be a disappointment, but we know there's still one more week left."
Sports on 11/26/2016