Photos, Videos: Gamble pays off for Broken Arrow

SPRINGDALE -- David Alexander never blinked when he rolled the dice on a one-play chance to win the Southwest Elite 7on7 Showcase.

The gamble paid off as Broken Arrow, Okla., quarterback Tate Robard found Isaiah Keller in the back of the end zone for the game-winning pass as the Tigers edged Fayetteville 29-28 in overtime to win the two-day passing tournament at Champions Stadium on Saturday.

The title game came down to one play after the game ended in a 27-27 tie when Fayetteville came up with a defensive stop with no time left on the clock to earn two points and tie the score after trailing 27-25.

In overtime, each team was allotted just one play and could choose either a 1-point try from the 5-yard line or a 2-point try from the 10. Fayetteville had the ball first and elected to go for one point, and quarterback Darius Bowers found Connor Flannigan for the go-ahead score to put the Bulldogs up 27-26.

Alexander, the Broken Arrow coach, said there was never any hesitation when he told his team to go for the win.

"They scored one and I just said, 'Hey, let's got for two and try and win this thing and go home,'" Alexander said. "I'm the one that needs to be the goat, and we'll let the kids be the champions."

Keller found an opening in the back of the end zone, and Robard threaded the needle for the score to give the Tigers their first Southwest Elite title. Broken Arrow fought its way through the loser's bracket, claimed an overtime win over Midwest City, Okla., in the semifinals, rolled over Bixby, Okla., 24-18, then handed undefeated Fayetteville its first loss in the first title game.

"We made it hard on ourselves today fighting through the loser's bracket," Alexander said. "I'm just really super proud of our team, and getting to play Fayetteville, just a great program with a great tradition is good for our program."

Broken Arrow lost 25-23 to Bentonville earlier in the day then reeled off seven straight wins including the 36-10 rout of Fayetteville in the first championship game.

Fayetteville rode its defense to a 14-12 win against Bixby in the semifinals, winning the game on a defensive stop. The Bulldogs got four defensive stops in the game, accounting for eight of their 14 points.

"Our kids played hard all day," Fayetteville coach Billy Dawson said. "We came a long way in the past two days. I'm really proud of them. I'm not interested in winning this trophy on the overall picture, but I'm really pleased with our competitive spirit."

Fayetteville opened the first title game with another defensive stop with an interception and a 10-7 lead and the ball. But the Bulldogs gave the lead back two plays later when Bryce Mattioda intercepted a Bowers pass and tied the game at 10-10. The Tigers then ran off 26 straight points for a 36-10 win. Tiger quarterbacks Robard and Quintevin Cherry combined for three scoring passes -- all to stellar receiver Matt Kaiser, who caught five touchdown passes in the two games.

The win forced a second title game, with this one much closer. Bowers was 15-of-17 in the second game and led the Bulldogs to a touchdown on their first two offensive possessions. Broken Arrow was even better as Robard and Cherry fired scoring passes on the first play of their series.

Fayetteville came up with a pair of defensive stops and four points, and Broken Arrow's Tricky Stokes had a sensational interception in the end zone for three points.

"Tricky is an incredible athlete," Alexander said. "He spun backward to catch that ball and did a great job getting his hands on it and making the catch when he bounced off the turf. Our secondary played super all weekend."

Fayetteville built a 25-17 lead when Bowers hit Flannigan again with 1:19 left, but Broken Arrow answered as Robard hit Keiser again on the first play, then drilled a dart to Keller for the 2-point conversion to tie the score at 25-25.

It looked like Broken Arrow had the game won when the Tigers came away with a defensive stop and two points for a 27-25 lead with under 30 seconds left, but the Bulldogs returned the favor with a defensive stop of its own to force overtime.

Sports on 07/15/2018