FAYETTEVILLE -- Zak Clark knew full well the offensive firepower he was leaving behind when he took the Springdale job in January after five years as Fayetteville's offensive coordinator.
Friday night, he got an up-close and personal view from the opposing sideline as Fayetteville junior quarterback Taylor Powell had a near-perfect performance and Fayetteville scored on its first seven drives en route to a 70-21 blowout victory.
Powell completed 20 of 22 passes for 238 yards and three scores to lead Fayetteville (6-0, 3-0 7A-West Conference) to a 56-7 halftime lead. Fayetteville outgained Springdale 359-114 in the first half and 505-164 in the game.
"When you're trying to stop them, there's an appreciation [that] those guys are really good," Clark said. "There's just so many weapons. It does make it tough. It really stretches you thin."
Luke Rapert ran for 44 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries in the victory. His 16-yard run less than four minutes into the game helped set the tone early. Fayetteville led 23-0 at the end of the first quarter, before Springdale (1-5, 1-2) scored its lone first-half touchdown on Jack Lindsey's 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kamryn Dickerson five seconds into the second quarter.
Fayetteville responded by scoring five more times before the end of the half, including senior Colby Sigears' 29-yard interception return for a touchdown. Fayetteville's defense shut down a Springdale offense playing without leading receiver Kyler Williams (concussion).
"I think our defense has played well and done a lot of really good things," Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. "They get overlooked because the offense is scoring points, but very, very proud of our defense. Proud of our offense and special teams. It was a complete win tonight."
Sigears' interception made it 36-7 three minutes into the second quarter. Fayetteville then padded the lead with Rapert's second touchdown run of the night, Powell's second touchdown pass to tight end Drake Wymer and a Powell touchdown run.
Fayetteville averaged 9.2 yards per play in the impressive first half before Powell and the rest of the starters gave way to reserves after intermission, finally able to start turning their attention to a looming showdown against Springdale Har-Ber next week.
"We had alumni come in and talk to us about [the Fayetteville-Springdale rivalry]," Patton said. "We'll never overlook Springdale. It's too big of a game, series and rivalry for us. Our kids came out focused and played hard and we executed."
Both teams scored twice in the second half, including Lindsey finding Dickerson for the their second touchdown of the night.
Sports on 10/10/2015