Fayetteville sophomore quarterback Taylor Powell had his ups and downs against Conway in the Class 7A quarterfinals last Friday at John McConnell Stadium in Conway, but the Bulldogs came out on top to knock off the top-ranked Wampus Cats 42-35.
Powell completed just 5 of 10 passes for 96 yards and threw 2 first-half interceptions. But he rebounded to throw a touchdown pass to tight end C.J. O'Grady, a University of Arkansas oral commitment.
Fayetteville rushed for 398 yards, so Powell didn't have to do too much. Bulldogs Coach Daryl Patton said he was proud of his first-year quarterback, who has the Bulldogs in the semifinals of the state playoffs for the first time since 2012.
"Let me tell you something: Brandon Allen and Austin Allen didn't get to the semifinals in their sophomore years," Patton said of his former Fayetteville quarterbacks who are both playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks. "Nothing against those guys, I love those guys to death, but Taylor Powell has really stepped up and played well.
"He lets the guys around him make plays. He's managed the game [against Conway] and threw it when he had to throw it. He made some big throws."
Powell has completed 129 of 220 passes for 1,985 yards with 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions this season.
The Bulldogs travel to Fort Smith Southside tonight. They defeated the Rebels 7-0 on Oct. 3.
"The No. 4 seed has been good to us," Patton said. "We're back in the semifinals. We're going back to Southside. We're excited."
North Little Rock
Semifinal slips
North Little Rock has reached the semifinals of the Class 7A state playoffs three of the past five seasons, but the Charging Wildcats haven't made it to a championship game in the modern era.
That has serves as a source of inspiration for Coach Brad Bolding and players going into each offseason.
North Little Rock lost in the semifinals at Cabot (43-42) last season, at Bentonville (31-7) in 2011 and at Fort Smith Southside (24-23) in 2009.
The Charging Wildcats (10-1) will host defending Class 7A state champion Bentonville (7-4) in the semifinals tonight at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
"It's two heavyweights getting after it," Bolding said. "They're very well-coached. Our football team respects them, but it's always going to go back to how we're playing the game and not who we're playing. Are we going to be better? We can definitely be better instead of playing catch-up in the second half."
Bolding said the Charging Wildcats will have to play together for four quarters if they want to knock off the Tigers, who started 0-4 but have won seven consecutive games.
"This is one of the best teams we've fielded," Bolding said. "We have to do well in all three phases. There's not going to be anybody we play, really, in the playoffs that are walkovers. In the semifinals, you have to be all out, all or nothing."
Sports on 11/28/2014