FAYETTEVILLE -- Cemari Dobbins came up with two of the biggest plays Friday night at Harmon Stadium.
Dobbins, a junior cornerback for Fayetteville, jumped a pass route and raced 69 yards with a interception return for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 19-7 lead with 26 seconds left before halftime. Dobbins then came up big again with the game on the line, knocking away a fourth-and-10 pass attempt to help preserve a 26-21 Fayetteville victory against Blue Springs, Mo.
"Cemari is one of those guys we've really put the heat on in this fall camp," Fayetteville Coach Bill Blankenship said. "And I thought for his first big test, to get a pick six in his first real big varsity outing, was huge."
Fayetteville (1-0) began sluggish on offense, with two punts and a fumble on its three possessions in the first quarter. The Bulldogs picked up the pace in the second quarter and got things rolling a bit in the passing game.
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Taylor Powell connected with Terrance Rock for a 20-yard swing pass touchdown to tie the game 7-7 with 8:30 left in the second quarter. Powell then found Barrett Banister on a screen pass with 4:43 before half for a 13-7 Fayetteville lead.
Blue Springs (2-1) running back Aveion Bailey was effective in the second half, rushing for 142 yards on 16 carries. But the Wildcats played catchup to Fayetteville the entire second half, despite keeping the Bulldogs off balance on offense and controlling the game at times with their own rushing attack.
Blue Springs pulled within 19-14 with 8:39 left in the third quarter on a Bailey 5-yard run. Fayetteville answered when Powell found Kris Mulinga for a 23-yard touchdown pass for a 26-14 lead with 4:09 remaining in the third.
The Wildcats continued to chip away with a six-play, 82-yard drive to cut the deficit to 26-21 with 1:11 left in the third quarter, but that was all for the scoring.
Sports on 09/03/2016