Unbeaten Bryant got defensive. Again.
Another smothering defensive performance led to another state championship for Bryant, which beat Bentonville 36-7 to capture its fifth consecutive Class 7A crown before an announced crowd of 18,482 on Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Bentonville (11-2) entered averaging 38.3 points per game and its offensive headliners included junior quarterback Carter Nye (2,817 passing yards this fall) and senior tailback Josh Ficklin (1,474 rushing yards). But the Tigers were throttled from the start and amassed only 216 total yards on 64 plays.
Bentonville's only touchdown came after recovering a Bryant lateral in the end zone with 9:28 remaining in the first quarter.
"They were the best team we had seen all year," Bentonville Coach Jody Grant said. "We knew what we were getting into. We knew we would have to play a near-perfect game. But you've got do that on both sides of the ball and in special teams. And tonight, offensively, we just struggled. We didn't protect our quarterback very well. We just didn't make plays. And you know, I've always argued that we might have the best back in the state. We couldn't get him loose tonight, so that's not a recipe for success. So, that's why the results ended like they did."
Ficklin was limited to 58 rushing yards on 14 attempts. His longest run was 9 yards. Nye completed 22 of 42 passes for 133 yards. He was sacked once and his lone interception resulted in senior Malachi Graham weaving his way 77 yards for a touchdown to give Bryant the lead for good, 14-7, with 8:35 remaining in the first half.
Graham also returned a blocked field-goal attempt 68 yards for a touchdown in Bryant's 42-38 victory over Fayetteville in last year's Class 7A state championship game.
"Malachi was the MVP of the state tournament last year," Hornets Coach Buck James said. "He made the play. Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. He's the one that made the interception and ran it back for (77 yards) and turned the tide for the game for us and it's a difference maker."
Friday's performance mirrored Bryant's season.
The Hornets (12-0) entered allowing just 222.2 total yards per game. Bryant – again – was particularly stingy against the pass. In Bryant's final four games this fall, its opponents were a combined 62 of 151 (41%) for 560 yards. Graham's interception was the team's seventh during that span.
"Last year, we had 10 of these guys starting for us and played the whole game last year," James said. "We didn't play very good defense and they had a chip on their shoulder, really, from the time we started to come out here and be the best defense in the state. I think they did. I think it's one of the best defenses of all time, to be honest with you, in the modern era."
The victory stretched Bryant's winning streak against in-state opponents to 53. In other words, Bryant got defensive. Again.
"I think it probably was our best defensive game," James said. "To hold those guys, I think they averaged over 400 yards a game and about 40, 45 points a game, to hold them to no points and somewhere around 200 yards is an unbelievable feat."