FAYETTEVILLE -- Watching Har-Ber and Fayetteville on Friday night might have taken some older fans back to those classic Battle of the Bulldogs matchups before Springdale split.
In the end, the visiting Wildcats emerged with a 27-6 victory and earned the 7A West conference's No. 3 seed in the playoffs, which begin next week.
"It was a very physical, hard-fought game," Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. "I think both teams have a chance to do some things in the playoffs."
Har-Ber (7-3, 5-2) limited the Purple'Dogs to 215 yards of offense but only 57 in the second half and shut them out in the final two stanzas.
"I thought the big thing tonight was our defense played really, really well," Wood said. "That's a heck of an offense with the personnel they have and how they execute. We were finally able to settle down and move the ball in the second half. I'm real proud of our guys."
Despite the setback, Fayetteville still hosts a first round game next Friday at Harmon Field.
"Give credit to Har-Ber for the defense they played on us," Fayetteville coach Casey Dick said. "Sometimes it felt like we couldn't get out of our own way. We've got to do better and be better, and I think we will. I was pleased overall with how we played defensively."
Two fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Blaise Wittschen -- one to Micah Seawood and the other to Errington McRae -- put the game on ice.
Wittschen finished 9 of 21 for 183 yards, while Jay Burns was the bell cow on the ground, rushing for 143 yards on 20 carries. Torrance Farmer added 106 yards on 15 totes.
Both teams turned the ball over in a sloppy first half which saw the two teams combine for 10 punts. Fayetteville threw an interception on its first drive of the game, and the Wildcats suffered a fumble and threw an interception in the opening 24 minutes.
Har-Ber got on the scoreboard late in the first quarter when Wittschen scurried in from four yards out to take a 7-0 lead.
The Purple'Dogs responded by going 67 yards in nine plays, culminating in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Hank Gibbs to Connor Flannigan.
"We have to regroup," Dick said. "We are better than what we showed tonight. I loved the effort and what our seniors did, but we know we are capable of more."
Har-Ber 27, Fayetteville 6
Har-Ber 7 0 3 17 — 27
Fayetteville 0 6 0 0 — 6
First Quarter
Har—Wittschen 4 run (Barroso kick), :44
Second Quarter
Fay—C. Flannigan 25 pass from Gibbs (kick failed), 9:43
Third Quarter
Har—FG Barroso 31, 6:41
Fourth Quarter
Har—FG Barroso 31, 10:41
Har—Seawood 26 pass from Wittschen (Barroso kick), 3:47
Har—McRae 48 pass from Wittschen (Barroso kick), 2:05
Four Downs
Fayetteville honored its broadcast, golf, tennis and football seniors prior to kickoff.
Counting postseason meetings, the overall series is now tied 8-8.
Wildcat receiver JaJuan Boyd had a highlight-reel one-handed catch down the sideline in the first quarter.
Next week Har-Ber will host Little Rock Central, while Fayetteville will host Cabot.
Sports on 11/09/2019