Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Purple’Dogs down Rockets
Fayetteville overpowers Little Rock Catholic for decisive win
FAYETTEVILLE — Darius Bowers threw five touchdown passes and Connor Flannigan set school receiving records, but special teams came up with the play of the game during Fayetteville’s 45-17 win against Little Rock Catholic at Harmon Stadium on Friday.
After the Bulldogs (9-2) raced out to a 24-7 lead behind three touchdown passes by Bowers and a 35-yard field goal by Huxley Richardson, a perfectly placed onside kick that surprised the Rockets (5-6) was recovered by sophomore Sebastian Rodriquez at the Catholic 43.
Three plays later, Bowers hit Beau Stuckey with a 38-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 31-7 with 7 minutes, 54 seconds remaining in the half.
“That was a big, big play,” said Little Rock Catholic coach John Fogleman. “We had finally held them for the first time, to a field goal anyway if you can call that a ‘hold,’ and that play gave them even more momentum — and momentum is a tough thing to overcome against a team like this.”
Because of the Rockets’ run-oriented offense, the 24-point lead put the Purple’Dogs firmly in the driver’s seat the rest of the way. Fayetteville coach Billy Dawson and his staff noticed a tendency while scouting game film they were able to exploit with their first onside kick attempt this season.
“It was good for momentum and just separation,” Dawson said. “They’re not a big-play team, so getting that three-score lead was big, and (Richardson) executed it perfectly. We thought we could get it and we’ve practiced it all year, so we’re really good at it. Huxley is really good at it.”
In the first half, Bowers connected on touchdown passes of 36, 4 and 13 yards to Flannigan, who now owns single-season school records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Bowers’ other two touchdowns went for 53 and 38 yards to Stuckey. Dawson
called the receiving duo “dynamite players,” and Fogleman agreed.
“They’re not big, but they are fast,” Fogleman said. “They run great routes and are very precise, and their quarterback is really good with his timing. They have a potent offense with that receiving corps and their quarterback, who is really, really good.”
Perhaps Fayetteville’s most impressive drive was when it needed four plays to cover 60 yards in 54 seconds. It was capped by a 13-yard touchdown from Bowers to Flannigan and created the 38-10 margin late in the second quarter. Following a quick three-and-out and a short punt, the Bulldogs had a chance to add to the lead before the half, but a couple of passes were dropped.
“We dropped five passes tonight, and we hadn’t done that all year,” Dawson said. “Darius is playing at such a high level as well as our receivers, and they always give us an opportunity for a quick score.”
Because of the Arkansas Activities Association’s sportsmanship rule, the clock began running continuously with 9:08 remaining in the third quarter when Bowers capped off an eight-play, 57-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 45-10. The score was set up by strong runs by Jordan Sharits and Carson Jordan, who saw extra work after junior speedster Montell Terry exited with an injury.
Fayetteville’s defense did its part thanks to pressure at the point of attack from players like Carson Johnson, Colman Johnson, Quade Mosier, Trindyn Meadows and Keondre Conley, among others. The secondary chipped in with seven pass deflections and an interception by Harrington Taylor as the Rockets had to try more passes to try to catch up after the successful onside kick had them trying to play catch-up.
“We were getting our hands on them, and we caught one finally,” Dawson said. “We’re getting better, especially in our secondary and defensively we’ve been playing a lot better these past three weeks.
“We’re going to need all of that going forward.”
“Darius is playing at such a high level as well as our receivers, and they always give us an opportunity for a quick score.”
— Fayetteville coach Billy Dawson