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Fayetteville Hosts Bryant In Battle Of 7A Heavyweights

Two of top three 7A schools battle to stay unbeaten

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)--It's not just college football that produces early season top three matchups. The second Friday of the Arkansas high school slate pits #2 Fayetteville against #3 Bryant.

"Really well coached, really physical, really big. Gonna get the ball in space some to their guys so we're gonna have to tackle in space," Purple Dogs head coach Billy Dawson said.

Both teams are off to 1-0 starts. Fayetteville took down Blue Springs, one of Missouri's best teams, 22-17. Bryant played rival Benton in front of more than 30,000 fans at War Memorial Stadium in the annual Salt Bowl. The Hornets came out on top 49-42.

"We're gonna have to move a little bit, you know. We're gonna have to move a little bit up front to combat how big they are. We're gonna have to tackle really well and tackle really well in space. Offensively we gotta control the line of scrimmage a little bit, get the ball to our dudes and see if we can make something happen," said Dawson.

When the teams met in week two last fall, the 43-10 score in favor of the Bulldogs doesn't show how tight the contest was.

"Last season was a pretty tough game, it's always a hard atmosphere down in Bryant, but they're up here this time so we just gotta go out and do what we do," senior Dotson Schaefer said.

All Fayetteville has done is win. Specifically, ten in a row and 25 of its last 28 games have ended in victory. That streak was in jeopardy late in Missouri, until junior and first year starting quarterback Darius Bowers rallied the Purple Dogs.

As Billy Dawson sees his signal caller, "Really a good player. Really a good player and just gonna get better as he goes. His temperament is outstanding, he's a good leader and he knows the offense. So he's just gonna get a little bit better every week."

Fayetteville and Bryant kickoff on Friday at 7 p.m. at Harmon Playfield.

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