Fayetteville’s Maxwell comes up big on defense
FAYETTEVILLE — Time was running out in the fourth quarter and Fayetteville needed someone, somewhere, and somehow to make a play on defense to help the Bulldogs continue their comeback against Cabot.
Ryan Maxwell, all 5-8, 155 pounds of him, answered with the biggest play of the night on defense when he blitzed Cabot quarterback Grant Freeman and forced a fumble that Fayetteville recovered at the Cabot 23. Three plays later, Jalen Blackburn made a diving catch for a 6-yard touchdown that gave Fayetteville its first lead of the game at 34-27 with 4 minutes, 46 seconds left in the game.
The score stood to send Fayetteville into tonight’s Class 7A state semifinal game against Conway at Harmon Field.
There were plenty of offensive highlights in the quarterfinal game against Cabot, including a 58-yard touchdown catch by Isaiah Sategna and a 73-yard touchdown reception by Braden Jay on the Panthers’ first series. But there’s no question the forced fumble by Maxwell turned the game in Fayetteville’s favor.
“If you look at one play that was the difference in the fourth quarter, that was it,” said Devonte Britt, who coaches the secondary for Fayetteville. “All the credit goes to that kid, a senior and great teammate, who did everything right and enabled him to shine in that moment.”
Maxwell timed his blitz from the corner perfectly, creeping up toward the line of scrimmage and then zipping around Cabot blockers while they were engaged with defensive linemen for Fayetteville. Freeman fumbled after Maxwell planted him with a solid hit to the chest and Fayetteville fell on the loose ball during the ensuing scramble.
“We were repping that in practice all week,” Maxwell said in crediting his coaches for the team’s preparation. “I trust my coaches and once the play call was made and I got my read, I took it. At first, I read run. But when I saw the quarterback still had the ball, I went and laid a lick on him.”
Indeed, he did. But the Panthers delivered some blows, too, especially in the first two quarters when they went to the locker room at halftime with a 21-6 lead. The Bulldogs’ poor play didn’t sit well with the Fayetteville coaches, who challenged the players at halftime.
“All year, even during the summer. we’ve been talking about responding to adversity,” Britt said. “I asked them at halftime ‘How are you going to respond to adversity? The chips are down and what are you going to do to make up for it?’ When it was really tough in the second half, Ryan and all of our guys, really, responded and I’m so proud of them.”
Maxwell is part of an experienced secondary that also includes senior starters Jaxson Taylor, Braelen Palmer, and Owen McCone. They’ve combined for 17 interceptions on the season, including one Maxwell returned to near midfield for a touchdown against Rogers.
“Everybody back there can play,” said Maxwell, who also returns punts and kickoffs for Fayetteville. “That’s from the seniors and down to the sophomores.”
Maxwell knows Fayetteville (9-2) can not afford another uneven performance today like last week, when the Bulldogs fell behind 27-6 in the third quarter. Conway (92) blasted Rogers 49-0 in the quarterfinals and the Wampus Cats will be motivated to advance to the state finals and avenge the 41-24 loss to Fayetteville in August in the season-opener for both teams.
“For us to beat Conway, we have to trust the coaches’ calls and continue with what we’ve been doing since working out in the off-season,” Maxwell said. “It’s time to put it to the test with what we’ve learned and take them out of the playoffs.”