FAYETTEVILLE -- Rogers Heritage played keep away from Fayetteville for much of the first half Friday.
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The War Eagles' strategy worked in the first quarter, but no bag of tricks -- not even a power failure at Harmon Stadium -- could slow down the Bulldogs in a 48-17 rout.
The War Eagles (0-7, 0-4 7A-West) had the ball for more than 10 minutes in the first quarter and twice drove the ball inside the Fayetteville 20. After failing to convert its opening six-minute drive into points, Heritage matched Fayetteville's first quick score with a Trey Kitterman 20-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Mancia with 29 seconds left in the opening quarter for a 7-7 tie.
Fayetteville (6-1, 3-1) made it hard for the War Eagles to keep up from there on. Quarterback Taylor Powell found both Barrett Banister and Brennon Lewis for scores in the second quarter, and Terrance Rock -- who rushed for 144 first-half yards -- added another as the Bulldogs built a 27-7 lead despite a 20-minute delay because of a power outage before halftime.
Heritage converted big pass plays to Mancia to keep first-half drives alive. Kitterman found Mancia for a 37-yard completion in the final minute of the second quarter, setting up an Aaron Pavlak 23-yard field goal with five seconds left before halftime as the War Eagles pulled within 27-10.
"We wasted two opportunities in the first half where we could have made it a tighter game at halftime," Rogers Heritage Coach Tony Travis said. "I thought [Fayetteville] definitely came out in the second half with a lot more intensity, and I need to see the film, but it looked like it rolled out some more guys and it was tough with our depth.
"But I was proud of our guys. We didn't back down, and we made those guys earn what they got tonight. But they've got a real good football team, and they've got a chance to go deep in the playoffs."
Rock finished with a career-high 195 yards rushing on just 13 carries, and he added a 4-yard touchdown run and a 40-yard touchdown catch.
Powell finished with 303 yards through three quarters on 23-of-28 passing as the Bulldogs scored on three consecutive possessions after halftime to build a 48-10 lead. Banister had a career-high 9 receptions for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"I think [Rogers Heritage] came out offensively and did some things," Fayetteville Coach Bill Blankenship said. "I didn't think we came out with that intensity, but I don't want to take anything away from them. That's what you have to learn. Team's can do stuff against us, and they had a chance to take the lead."
The Bulldogs visit Springdale Har-Ber (6-1, 4-0) next Friday in a battle for the top spot in the 7A-West Conference. Rogers Heritage hosts Bentonville West next week.
Sports on 10/15/2016