Gideon Motes has been preparing for a night like Friday for months now.
Motes was the presumed starting quarterback heading into the season, but he injured his shoulder in Bryant's benefit game against Pulaski Academy.
Sophomore Jordan Walker took the reins of the offense from then on. Bryant (12-0) Coach Buck James has viewed Motes as the 1-B to Walker rather than a traditional backup.
Motes was named the Most Valuable Player of Bryant's 36-7 victory over Bentonville in the Class 7A state championship game Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Friday's championship win marks the fifth in a row for the Hornets, making them the first team in Arkansas history to win five consecutive state titles in the playoff era.
"Last year I said you can't win five, if you don't win four and I said that tongue in cheek but doggone if we didn't do it again," James said. "... Five in a row is mind-boggling. I think this is something these young men will remember forever. I know I will remember it forever."
When Bryant's first three offensive drives ended in two punts and an overthrown lateral pass that led to a touchdown to make the score 7-0, James wanted to make a change.
He had planned for Motes to play a few series then reevaluate, but Motes led Bryant to a touchdown on his second drive and he rode with him the rest of the way.
Motes finished Friday's game 13-of-22 for 197 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also rushed eight times for 67 yards.
"Gideon's battled some injuries all year long," James said. "It just hadn't gone his way. ... We were gonna just take [Walker] out for a couple series and see what happened. [Motes] got in there and played well, and we stuck with him. He made some good decisions. He ran the ball well, and that's something that we've been looking for out of him."
Motes has spelled Walker throughout the season, but a concussion held him out of action late in the season.
"It was definitely difficult with the injuries, not just physically but [also] mentally it was difficult," Motes said. "I thought I was the guy in the summer, but then I got hurt and a bunch of stuff happened. I'm just grateful."
Motes found a near-instant connection with Bryant's top receiver, Mytorian Singleton. The junior totaled 7 catches for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games," James said. "He's a tremendous player, and I think he can make the case he's one of the best receivers in the state."
Motes and Singleton connected on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 10:44 left in the first half to make it 7-7.
Bryant scored the next 29 points to run away with the win. Safety Malachi Graham returned an interception for a touchdown two minutes after Singleton's score to make it 14-7. Motes then connected with Singleton, Karter Ratliff and Chris Gannaway for touchdowns to pad the lead.
"We knew that offensively, [Bryant] was clicking," Bentonville Coach Jody Grant said. "They brought [Motes] in and that dude's really talented. We knew that he could flip it around and they got some dudes to get it to."
Defensively, Bryant was lights out. The unit held Bentonville to 216 yards, 12 first downs and 2-of-16 conversions on third and fourth down.
"[Bentonville has] a great offensive line, great quarterback, great receivers and great running back, so to be able to hold them to that is an amazing feat," James said.
"We struggled tonight offensively," Grant said. "Our defense played their guts out, I'll forever appreciate that. But you can't leave your defense in a situation like that where you're on the field all the time."
Once the lead was secured, Bryant was able to control the clock and the ball with the rushing game that eluded it earlier in the game. Gannaway and James Martin combined for 32 carries for 183 yards.
Walker eventually returned to the game to close out the final minutes with the score at 36-7. His impact on Friday's result wasn't significant, but James was sure to point out what he did to get the Hornets to War Memorial Stadium.
"We couldn't have got here without Jordan Walker," James said. "Jordan Walker has been the meat and potatoes. ... We've got two really good quarterbacks. I've been saying that all along, but people didn't believe me. ... That's what you have to have. You have to have great football players to win championships. Both of these guys were very unselfish and did a tremendous job for our football team."
Motes didn't have much to say about the team trophy, or even his own, but he did have one word that kept coming to mind when he thought about them."
"It's just incredible," Motes said. "That's really all I can say. It's all I've been able to say all night is it's incredible."
Bryant’s Gideon Motes (left) shoves away Bentonville’s JT Tomescko during the second quarter of the Class 7A state championship game on Friday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Hornets won 36-7. More photos at arkansasonline.com/123state7a/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)Gallery: Class 7A Football State Championship
