7A State Championship Bryant 42, Fayetteville 38 Four the Ages
Hornets hold off Dogs for title
LITTLE ROCK – Winning a state championship at any classification is tough enough to accomplish. But winning four in a row in the state’s largest class can be defined as unbelievable.
For the 2021 Bryant Hornets (12-1) the term “4-peat” will be remembered for a lifetime after Saturday’s 42-38 thriller with Fayetteville (10-3) at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
“I am blessed,” said Head Coach Buck James. “Four in a row is unbelievable, especially nowadays. We didn’t play well, but Fayetteville had a lot to do with that. They played really good and made some turnovers and mistakes, but that game could have gone either way. I’m realistic enough to know we got some breaks and some luck. We have been out-talented, out-played and out-schemed all season, but we have been able to overcome that.”
The Hornets not only won their fourth straight state title game, they also defeated their 42nd straight in-state opponent dating back to Week 9 of the 2018 season.
The consecutive title streak also moves Bryant into elite company as the fourth team to ever accomplish the feat of fourth straight, sitting only behind the legendary Little Rock Central teams of yesteryear.
James and his Hornets are also the first 7A school to win four straight titles in state history.
While the Hornets are celebrating the big win, the game was not pretty in the slightest.
The game began with a great defensive battle from both sides as a turnover on downs and punts were traded the first four drives.
That was until Bryant finally managed to get its wheels rolling. Starting at the Dogs 31, the
Hornets would embark on a 5-play, 31-yard drive that was set up on a bad punt from Fayetteville.
Running back Chris Gannaway broke the nothing-nothing tie with a 16-yard run and score with 4:41 left in the opening quarter.
With the momentum in Bryant’s favor, the Saline County crowd erupted one play later as sophomore Drake Fowler picked Dogs quarterback Bladen Fike and returned the rock 27 yards for the score, putting Bryant ahead 14-0 with 4:29 to go in the frame.
From that point on, both teams would go back and forth with momentum shifts and game-altering plays.
With 1:53 to go in the first, Fayetteville began at Bryant’s 47 before Fike found his top target Isaiah Sategna for the 47-yard TD strike on the drive’s first play. A botched extra-point try would leave Bryant ahead 14-6.
The score would remain the same until mid-second quarter when the Dogs cut Bryant’s lead to one with another deep pass from Fike, this time to Jalen Blackburn for the 22-yard TD. Bryant would lead 14-13 with 4:54 left in the half.
Both defenses would hold strong the rest of the quarter as Bryant went into the locker room up 14-13.
Starting the third with the ball after deferring to the second half, Fayetteville looked to have things going strong on the opening drive of the second half.
After a completion to the Hornets 3, Malachi Graham would come in with a big hit on Sategna that forced a fumble that was recovered by Fowler.
Bryant would then need only 16 seconds to get all the way down the field for another score and 21-13 lead.
Gannaway, Bryant’s go-to back all season hit a seam and sprinted 84 yards to the Dogs 7 before James Martin cleaned things up a play later with a big TD run for the score.
Fayetteville, though, would not go away. The Dogs would drive strong following Bryant’s score, getting deep into Hornets territory before settling for a 22-yard field goal from Blackburn to narrow the game to 21-16 Bryant.
Fayetteville kept with the strong defensive play and forced a punt in hopes of getting even closer on the scoreboard.
However, things would not go as planned. Facing a 27-yard field goal attempt the kick would be blocked and recovered by Graham who then scooped and scored on the 68-yard return to put his team ahead 28-16 with 4:07 to go in the third.
Looking as if the contest was about to get out of control, Fayetteville stopped the bleeding and continued to drive well on offense.
With the third-quarter clock coming to a end, the Dogs would get one last touchdown in, this time on a 32-yard pass and catch from Fike to Lach Mckinney. Bryant would lead 28-23 with 12 minutes to tick in the game.
The heavyweight bout continued to be punch after punch from both sides.
With 9:35 to go in the game, Bryant would go ahead
35-23 on another Martin TD run. But Fayetteville answered immediately on one play when Fike found Blackburn from 72 yards away for the score, narrowing things to 35-30 Bryant with 9:20 to go.
After failing to convert on fourth-and-7, Bryant would turn the ball over on downs with 7:45 to go, allowing the Dogs a chance to take the first lead of the night,
Holding true to form, the Dogs would go 66 yards on six plays to steal the advantage from Bryant as Fike rushed in from 2 yards. He would hit Sategna for the successful 2-point try to lead the Hornets 38-35 with 4:07 left in the game.
But the Hornets were not finished. Needing a comefrom-behind drive, Bryant turned to what has worked all season – the running attack.
After being stuffed and faced with a fourth-and-3, Burnett would find Mytorian Singleton over the middle and in traffic for 32 yards and the first down to keep the series and the game alive.
Two plays later, Burnett returned to the air and found Singleton again except this time it was in the end zone for the eventual game-winning score as Bryant led 42-38.
Still with nearly two minutes to go, Fayetteville had a chance until Ivroy Gilmore forced a fumble on a big hit to Fike which was recovered by Will Diggins at the Dogs 37.
Bryant would run nearly all the remaining clock, giving the Dogs back the ball with 12 seconds to go. A nice sideline pass and out-of-bounds play set Fayetteville up for a hail mary heave which found the turf.
Celebratory chaos would then ensue as Bryant’s side erupted in what became an absolute thrilling victory.
“Every one of our state titles have been bloodbaths,” James said. “The three we had with North Little Rock weren’t easy. This was just like the last three. But our kids were resilient. We could have quit but we didn’t. We played four guys tonight that didn’t play a down all season.”
The game’s most valuable player went to Graham for his ability to flip the field in the punting game. He would finish with five punts for 212 yards with two going inside the 20-yard line.
Graham also would boot a 60-yard punt that bounced out at the 1, leaving Fayetteville with tough sledding that proved to be a pivotal point of the game.
“He has played well all year long,” James said. “He is talented. He can kick and we put him on Fayetteville’s most talented receiver and did as good a job as anyone has all season. He is what you call a football player.
His brother Miguel is equally competitive at the other corner. They want to be the best every time they come on the field.”
Bryant finished with 235 rushing yards on the night, led by Gannaway with 198 and a score on 20 carries. Martin followed with 73 yards and two scores on 15 touches.
Through the air, Burnett was held to 12 of 20 passing for 197 yards and a score. He would also be picked twice and sacked three other times in the win.
“Carson is a winner,” James said. “This time last year he was our third-team quarterback. Coach Kirk Bock has done a tremendous job with him. He knows how to win.”
Singleton continued his dominance as the top receiver for the Hornets, finishing with 115 yards and a score on six catches.
Fike would torch Bryant’s offense with 473 yards passing on 21 of 46 completions and four touchdowns. He would be picked three times and sacked five other times.
Sategna showed why he is one of the state’s top receivers as well, hauling in eight catches for 168 yards and a score. Blackburn followed with two scores and five catches going for 124 yards.
Rushing, Fayetteville was held to 85 total yards with Fike leading with 47 and a score.
The victory is the 200th of James’ head coaching career.
“They told me that but the other 35 or 40 I lost hurt a lot more than these feel good, I can tell you that,” James said. “But I didn’t win anything because I didn’t play. I didn’t throw a ball or make a tackle. I have been blessed with great kids. Last time I checked these kids lost one football game in the last three years.”
The Hornets complete another storied season and will graduate eight starting seniors in the spring and 25 overall.
James said he is looking forward to bringing back a still young club next year as well.
“You can’t win five in a row if you don’t win four,” James added.