Bracket play at the National Select 7-on-7 in Hoover, Ala., was no easy chore for Fayetteville or Springdale Har-Ber on Saturday.
The Bulldogs and Wildcats participated in pool play at the National Select 7-on-7 Friday, with Fayetteville posting a 4-2-1 record in Pool B and Har-Ber recording a 2-5 mark in Pool A. The Purple'Dogs entered the bracket play as the ninth seed in the 32-team field, which featured top schools throughout the Southeast, with Springdale Har-Ber seeded 26th.
National Select 7-on-7
Where: Hoover, Ala.
Saturday’s Results
Mandeville, La. 33, Fayetteville 29
Fayetteville 33, Foley, Ala. 21
Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes 28, Fayetteville 17
Oxford, Miss 29, Springdale Har-Ber 2
Hoover (Ala.) Spain Park 27, Springdale Har-Ber 13
Both teams struggled Saturday as Har-Ber was sent home with two straight losses. Fayetteville fared just a bit better, winning one game before finishing the day 1-2.
The Bulldogs lost Saturday's first game, 33-29, to Mandeville, La., to set themselves up in a tough position in the consolation bracket.
"You have to be able to make some defensive stops," Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. "Everybody down here has an incredible offense, but we couldn't get teams off the field. We go ahead 14-0, and we couldn't get the defensive stops.
"But I'm proud of our guys. We competed hard and played against top competition, and we got better."
Har-Ber lost 29-2 to Oxford, Miss., in its first game Saturday, then was eliminated 27-13 by Hoover (Ala.) Spain Park.
"Oxford was pretty good, and they had the top receiver in Mississippi," Wildcats coach Chris Wood said. "Our defense did a good job, but offensively we missed some opportunities and then it got away from us.
"The difference down here from last week at (the Southwest Elite) at Shiloh is you're throwing windows. You go from throwing in the space of a living room to throwing against the size of a door. But that's the competition down here, and our guys didn't back down."
Fayetteville avoided an 0-2 day with a 33-21 win against Foley, Ala. The Bulldogs were then ousted with a 28-17 loss to Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes.
"Every game we played we either had the lead or were right there in it this weekend," Patton said. "The record could have been better, but we're pleased with the way we competed and represented Fayetteville and the state of Arkansas in a positive way."
Sports on 07/19/2015