Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
FAYETTEVILLE BECAME A COMPLETE TEAM BY SEASON’S END
“Titletown” in Arkansas’ largest classification for football is draped in purple and white, home of the Fayetteville Bulldogs.
Fayetteville earned the moniker after defeating Bentonville 22-16 in the Class 7A state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Fayetteville won its sixth state championship and finished 13-0 for the first time in school history.
The 2023 state championship trophy the Bulldogs brought home from Little Rock now becomes the centerpiece in the multi-million-dollar Sports, Wellness, and Activities Center that was completed over the summer.
So, how did Fayetteville achieve purple perfection in 2023?
Fayetteville’s seniors, especially, entered the season highly-motivated after the way their junior season ended, a 37-0 loss at home to Conway in a second-round game. Senior quarterback Drake Lindsey called the shutout in front of the home crowd embarrassing and pledged to make up for it.
He did that by leading Fayetteville to a 13-0 record, capped by his MVP performance in the championship game against Bentonville.
Fayetteville rode the strong right arm of Lindsey to five wins where the Bulldogs scored at least 50 points. Lindsey had his best performance in a 56-28 victory over Springdale Har-Ber when he completed 25 of 28 passes for 337 yards and seven touchdowns to six different receivers. Lindsey finished the season with 52 touchdown passes, which is a single-season record for the state’s largest classification.
Fayetteville was also able to run the ball much better this year, especially with senior Christian Setzer following his blockers for good yardage out of the backfield. But no team wins championships without major contributions from its defense and special teams and Fayetteville, by season’s end, excelled in all three phases of the game.
Fayetteville won playoff games against Fort Smith Southside, Conway, and Bentonville primarily because of strong performances by its defense, a fact Lindsey readily acknowledged while being presented the game’s MVP plaque on the field at War Memorial after he threw for 355 yards and a touchdown against Bentonville.
As good as Fayetteville was on offense, Fayetteville was just as good on defense by playoff time. And no team is complete without a reliable placekicker like Nathan Kachel, who provided clutch kicks all season long for the Bulldogs.
Rematches are common in Arkansas’ largest classification with only 16 teams and Fayetteville had to hold off Bentonville a second time after beating the Tigers 42-21 on Oct. 13. But Fayetteville was most likely satisfied with its revenge game against Conway, where the Bulldogs turned a 37-0 defeat to end the 2022 season into a 24-21 semifinal win that put Fayetteville on the road to Little Rock.
That’s where Fayetteville put the finishing touches on its sixth state championship and secured a 13-0 record for the first time in school history.
Purple reign.