FAYETTEVILLE -- Taylor Powell threw three first-half touchdown passes and Terrance Rock rushed for 110 yards and another touchdown on just 11 carries as Fayetteville racked up a big early lead against an overmatched Bentonville West on Homecoming Night at Harmon Stadium.
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But the Wolverines made things easy for Fayetteville, giving away four fumbles on four consecutive first-half possessions as the Purple Bulldogs rolled to a 50-14 win on Friday.
West^0^0^14^0^—^14
Fay^23^20^7^0^—^50
First Quarter
Fay — Mulinga 5 pass from Powell (Birch kick), 10:11.
Fay — Dobbins 38 interception return (Birch kick), 9:05.
Fay — Lewis 2 pass from Powell (kick failed), 6:12.
Fay — FG Birch 31, :07.
Second Quarter
Fay — Rock 6 run (Birch kick), 9:32.
Fay — Lewis 15 pass from Powell (Birch kick), 6:08.
Fay — Banister 11 pass from Bowers (kick failed), :04.
Third Quarter
West — Jackson 32 pass from Jarrett (McDoulett kick), 9:35.
Fay —Dickason 11 pass from Bowers (Birch kick), 4:58.
West — Jackson 5 pass from Jarrett (McDoulett kick), 1:19.
"The turnovers really made things go a lot faster in the first half and you like to see your guys get that kind of stuff," Fayetteville coach Bill Blankenship said. "Just very pleased with our offense. I thought they were very workmanlike. I thought Taylor spread the ball around and really there was very little to fuss about."
Fayetteville (4-1, 1-1 7A-West) pulled Powell, Rock and other starters before halftime with Fayetteville building a 37-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Powell found Kris Mulinga for a 5-yard touchdown score on the opening drive of the game with 10 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first quarter, then connected with Brennon Lewis midway through first quarter as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-0 lead.
West (1-4, 1-1) had no luck moving the ball against the Fayetteville defense in the first half, limited to a pair of Will Jarrett pass completions and several Jarrett quarterback scrambles. But no matter what was happening on offense, four consecutive turnovers gave West almost no chance of staying even remotely close.
"We shot ourselves in the foot having five turnovers, four on turnovers an on on the (onsides) kickoff which is just like a turnover," Wolverines coach Bryan Pratt said. "You can't do that against any football team, much less the defending state champs.
"They're a really good team and really well coached, and we just have to keep trying to get better. After our big win last week, we came back and our focus wasn't where it needed to be."
Fayetteville took a 43-0 lead into halftime when reserve quarterback Darius Bowers led a last-minute drive in the second quarter, finding Barrett Banister for an 11-yard touchdown with just four seconds before intermission.
The Wolverines came out still fighting in the third quarter, as quarterback Will Jarrett hooked up with Jaden Jackson for two touchdown passes of 32 and five yards.
"Obviously you don't like to get beat bad like this but you want them to keep fighting, especially when we have a young team like this," Pratt said. "You want them to keep chopping away at the tree and looking at the big picture and see what happens."
Bentonville West hosts Springdale High next Friday and Fayetteville visits Rogers High.
Sports on 10/01/2016