Bryant pulls away from Fayetteville

BRYANT — Quarterback Austin Ledbetter may have taken more licks Friday night than he has at any point this season, but he stayed upright long enough to help move Bryant one step closer to playing for another state title.

The junior completed 12 of 22 passes for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns as Bryant pulled away and beat Fayetteville 4214 in the quarterfinals of the Class 7A state playoffs at a rain-soaked Hornet Stadium.

Junior running back Tanner Anderson carried 11 times for 74 yards and scored on runs of 36 and 2 yards for Bryant (11-0), which knocked off Fayetteville for the fifth time in its past six meetings and will host Bentonville West next week in the semifinals after the Wolverines rallied to beat Conway 31-21.

Senior running back Ahmad Adams added 73 yards rushing on 13 carries and scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter that put Bryant ahead to stay. But the Hornets had a tough time dealing with the Bulldogs in their rematch.

Fayetteville (6-6), which lost to Bryant 42-13 in Week 3 and was playing without starting quarterback Hank Gibbs, gave the defending champions fits for three quarters by mixing things up on offense.

“It’s hard to come off a bye week, and I can make excuses for everybody, but we didn’t play very well, especially in the first half,” Bryant Coach Buck James said. “The defense played OK, but we looked like the Keystone Cops out there trying to figure out who to cover and what we were supposed to do. Still, Fayetteville is a lot better football team than what we saw the last time.”

Fayetteville also made things rough on Ledbetter over the first two quarters. The Bulldogs consistently applied pressure up the middle as well as around the edge, which at times, forced him into errant throws.

“He struggled the first half,” James said of Ledbetter, who also tossed a pair of interceptions. “A lot of that was because we didn’t’ block well and weren’t winning at the line of scrimmage. We’ve got to play better in those situations because he’s an extension of how everybody else plays.”

The Bulldogs caught a break early in the first quarter to snatch a quick lead. Fayetteville recovered a punt that ricocheted off a Hornets player, and backup quarterback Quinn McClain wasted no time in capitalizing when he found senior wide receiver Connor Flannigan for a 39-yard touchdown on the next play to put the Bulldogs up 7-0. Fayetteville continued to keep Bryant guessing with its offensive schemes and had chances to put more points on the board by driving deep inside Bryant territory on two of its next four drives but came away empty-handed each time.

“Those missed opportunities were big because when you get down there, you’ve got to take advantage,” Fayetteville coach Casey Dick said. “Bryant did a good job of answering when we couldn’t score, but our guys continued to fight. We were right there with them.”

The Hornets finally put together a complete drive on its fifth trip to tie the game. Bryant moved 75 yards in five plays, with Anderson sprinting around the right end for a 36-yard touchdown with 2:41 left in the second quarter to knot it at 7-7.

Ledbetter began to settle into a rhythm in the second half and gave Bryant a 14-7 lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Jake Meaders with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter. He did toss an interception on the Hornets’ next possession, which was returned 43 yards for a touchdown by senior defensive back Alex Mills, but he delivered a key 37-yard completion on third down to junior wide receiver Joseph Young on the ensuing series that led to Adams’ go-ahead score.

Anderson’s short touchdown run with 11:24 left in the fourth quarter gave Bryant a 28-14 lead before Ledbetter put the game out of reach with a 57-yard scoring strike to Meaders at the 8:47 mark. Junior running back Xavier Foote added a 5-yard touchdown run with just under five minutes left to play.