Tempo to liking of Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville scored 31 consecutive points to snap a four-game skid with a 52-14 mercy-rule victory against Rogers at Harmon Field on Friday.
The Bulldogs (2-4, 1-2 7A-West) kept the chains moving with junior quarterback Darius Bowers serving as the catalyst. He hustled the team to the line after each play and snapped the ball at a much higher tempo than in recent weeks, which wore down the defense of the Mounties (4-2, 1-2).
“We’re playing a lot faster,” Fayetteville Coach Billy Dawson said. “We’re getting it out faster. We’re getting it to our guys a little quicker. They were giving us some things that we liked, and Darius did a nice job of reading it and taking advantage of it.”
Fayetteville had only six rushing plays in the first half and seven in the first 30 minutes. Dawson said Bowers is given the option to run or pass “about 95 percent of the time,” and against Rogers, pass plays were the better option more times than not.
Bowers missed on a few deep balls, but otherwise had his best performance as a starter by completing 28 of 35 passes for 387 yards and 5 touchdowns before exiting midway through the third quarter when the clock began running continuously. He also rushed for a touchdown.
The Mountaineers cut the deficit to 21-14 on a 42-yard catch-and-run by Aaron Jones on a pass from Hunter Loyd, but Fayetteville’s defense toughened up the rest of the way to force several threeand-outs. That didn’t give the Mounties’ defense much time to rest as Fayetteville ran its hurry-up, no-huddle offense.
“We were going screen, screen, screen and then a deep ball,” Bowers said. “I think we got up to the line and snapped it quicker, and that fast of a pace is tough for a defense to keep up with because we practice it more than they do.”
Dawson said getting the ball to “weapons” Cody Gray and Kris Mulinga helped the offense stay in a rhythm. They combined for more than 300 yards and 3 touchdowns, including scores of 41 and 50 yards by Gray. Mulinga, who had a 79-yard touchdown catch, had a season-high 16 receptions for 207 yards.
“We were trying to go at a fast pace to keep the pressure on them,” Mulinga said. “We’ve been working on it more the past two weeks, and we just need to keep this tempo up and keep taking it one game at a time.”
ROGERS HERITAGE 29, VAN BUREN 28
ROGERS — Rogers Heritage didn’t want to work overtime on homecoming night.
Dylan Qualls ran around the left side to reach the end zone for a two-point conversion to give Rogers Heritage a victory over Van Buren in 7A-West Conference action at Gates Stadium.
Rogers Heritage (1-5, 1-2 7A-West) got a big rushing effort from Qualls and quarterback Trey Kitterman. Both seniors rushed for more than 100 yards and scored two touchdowns apiece.
Kitterman was the leader with 139 yards on 22 carries, while Qualls added 133 on 21 carries. That overshadowed a big effort by Van Buren running back Walter Green, who ran for 192 yards on 25 carries and 3 touchdowns for the Pointers (0-6, 0-3).