FAYETTEVILLE — There will be no three-peat in Class 7A.
Fayetteville, the two time defending state champs, almost got away with a night full of miscues. But seven turnovers proved to be just too much to overcome in a 34-28 upset loss against Little Rock Central in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.
“Give Little Rock Central all the credit,” Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. “They played awfully well, they played smart and sound and had a great gameplan and came up here and had no turnovers.
“You can’t turn it over like we did tonight and win a playoff game. It’s tough right now, but we did a lot of good things this year and I’m proud of our kids.”
Fayetteville (8-3) stuffed the Tigers’ offense the entire first half, but still led just 14-7 at the intermission. The third quarter, though, was all LR Central.
Changing up the offensive gameplan, the Tigers (7-4) controlled the game with the run and took advantage of numerous Fayetteville mistakes to build a 28-14 lead. The Purple’Dogs would roar back to tie the game, 28-28 with 2 minutes, 8 seconds left and even got the ball back with 1:04 remaining.
But another turnover, a fumble by quarterback Mitch Marshall, led to a quick two-play LR Central scoring drive that proved to be the difference when quarterback Cooper Westbrook hit tailback Logan Moragne on back-to-back pass plays for the final 34-28 margin.
“This is a huge win for us,” Central coach Scooter Register said. “We haven’t won a playoff game in a long time and this is a big deal.”
EXTRA POINTS
• Fayetteville quarterback Mitch Marshall threw just six interceptions in the first nine games of the season, but finished 16 of 44 for 266 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions against LR Central.
• Moragne rushed 36 times for 142 yards and had three receptions for 54 yards for the Tigers.
• Fayetteville had five fumbles and four lost fumbles on the night, including two turnovers on its last two possessions.
• Central did not score an offensive touchdown in the first half and was held to 89 yards in the first two quarters, but benefited from a 62-yard fumble return TD to stay within 14-7 at intermission.
• Fayetteville was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
UP NEXT: LR Central advances to face Cabot, the top seed from the 7A-Central, next week.
HOW THEY SCORED
Little Rock Central 34, Fayetteville 28
LR Central^0^7^14^13^—^34
Fayetteville^0^14^0^14^—^28
Second Quarter Fay — Cook 2 run (Conway kick), 7:27.
Cent — Williams 64 fumble return (Wahls kick), 4:34.
Fay — Dennis 5 pass from Marshall (Conway kick), 2:11.
Third Quarter
Cent — Moragne 12 run (Wahls kick), 5:25.
Cent — Westbrook 1 run (Wahls kick), 3:01.
Fourth Quarter
Cent — Fountain 9 pass from Westbrook (Wahls kick), 9:36.
Fay — Dennis 13 pass from Marshall (Conway kick), 5:10.
Fay — Cook 1 run (Conway kick), 2:08.
Cent — Moragne 33 pass from Westbrook (kick failed), :19.