Bentonville goes into denial
NO. 1 BENTONVILLE 35, NO. 4 FAYETTEVILLE 21
FAYETTEVILLE — Bentonville turned to its reliable and stingy defense to secure its seventh consecutive conference title Friday at Harmon Stadium.
After a first half filled with big offensive plays and superb quarterback play, Bentonville pitched a shutout in the second half to defeat Fayetteville 35-21.
Tailback Dylan Smith ran for 218 yards as Bentonville earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 7A playoffs. Fayetteville, which has lost two in a row, falls to the No. 4 seed from the 7A/6A-West Conference.
“I don’t know the numbers and everything, but defensively we played really well in the second half,” Bentonville Coach Barry Lunney said. “[Fayetteville] really came out swinging, and somebody tell me how to stop [C.J. O’Grady]. He’s just really good, and they were unconscious there in the first half.”
O’Grady, a junior tight end, and senior wideout Jordan Dennis made big plays in the passing game all night for Fayetteville, but Bentonville (8-2, 7-0 7A/6A-West) put a halt to the Bulldogs’ attack in the second half, getting a key interception from Nick Fernandez with less than four minutes left to secure the victory.
“Their guy just made a great play. C.J. was open there and he might even score,” Fayetteville Coach Daryl Patton said. “I’m just really proud of the guys. Congratulations to Bentonville on the conference championship, but like I told our guys, now it’s the playoffs and everybody is 0-0.”
Fayetteville (8-2, 5-2) led 2114 late in the first half before failing to find the end zone the rest of the way. The Tigers still led just 28-21 before Smith’s 30-yard touchdown run with 1:25 sealed the deal.
Fayetteville quarterback Mitch Marshall threw for 243 yards in the first half but completed only 8 of 20 for 102 yards with 2 interceptions in the second half. Dennis finished with 5 receptions for 177 yards and 1 touchdown, and O’Grady hauled in 8 passes for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Bentonville has defeated Fayetteville eight consecutive times in the regular season.
“These games with Fayetteville lately have been some of the best games I’ve been associated with in my entire coaching career,” Lunney said. “I’ve been in a lot of good ones, but consistently it’s getting ridiculous how good these games with Fayetteville are.”