In fact, Har-Ber lost twice to Southside last season, once during the regular season (27-22) and again in the semifinals of the playoffs (8-7).

Although the Rebels (5-2, 3-1) are coming off a 34-26 home loss against Fayetteville last week, Williams said his team has played very well on the road and that he’s confident about his team’s chances.

“Anytime you play at home, you’re used to the surroundings, but it seems like we’ve been a pretty good road team this year,” Williams said. “We’re playing pretty good football.”

Wood said it’s no secret that both the Wildcats and Rebels will try to establish their running games tonight, the one area that’s been effective for both teams. Both teams have go-to guys in the backfield — Har-Ber has junior Gordon Welch (781 yards, nine touchdowns) while Southside has David Adair (718 yards, four touchdowns) and Lee Hollis (313 yards, nine touchdowns).

Meanwhile, both teams also possess two of the best defenses in the conference, as Har-Ber has given up only 109 rushing yards this season.

“They have so many talented guys on both sides of the ball,” Wood said. “It’s a tough matchup for us. Both teams are going to try and run the ball and both teams are going to rely on their defenses to get the job done. Hopefully we can come away with no turnovers and just rely on what we’ve done well this season.”

TIMES RECORD SPORTS WRITER KEVIN TAYLOR CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT.

The Tigers forced a punt on the next possession and scored in eight plays on junior Pearson Gean’s 1-yard quarterback sneak. Larimer picked off another Conley pass on Rogers’ first ensuing play, and Bentonville needed only two plays to lead 20-0 when senior Courtney Haskell surged in from 6 yards out.

Haskell’s second touchdown of the night, a 7-yarder late in the first quarter, put the Tigers up 27-0.

Peacock inserted Graham Parker at quarterback late in the first quarter, and the junior did lead the Mounties to four first downs. Still, the Tigers added two more touchdowns in the second quarter and finished the first half with a 257-58 advantage in total yards.

Gean’s 9-yard roll-out touchdown pass to senior Austin Griffith with 46 seconds left in the half ensured the second half would start with a running clock. Gean finished the night 12-of-13 with 126 passing yards, all in the first half.

“It was a struggle for us early (on the ground), and we have to be diverse on offense,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said. “The kids caught the ball well, and Pearson threw it well. It was very good offensive execution.”

The only downer for Bentonville: A possible season-ending injury to Hayden Boydston. The senior linebacker suffered an ACL injury to his right knee on the opening kickoff of the second half, and Lunney said he was still awaiting MRI results.

Despite being bummed about Boydston’s injury, Lunney seemed optimistic about the state of his team.

“(Friday night) meant a lot because we’re hitting the stretch right now where we’re competing for a conference championship,” Lunney said. “(Offense, defense and special teams) are going to have to all come together if you want to compete for it, and it was good to see that out there.”

BENTONVILLE 48, ROGERS HIGH 0

Rogers High    0    0    0    0    —    0
Bentonville    27    14    7    0    —    48
First Quarter
Bent — Larimer 33 interception return (Levin kick), 11:07
Bent — Gean 1 run (Levin kick), 5:43
Bent — Haskell 6 run (kick failed), 4:34
Bent — Haskell 7 run (Levin kick), :42
Second Quarter
Bent — Boedeker 5 run (Levin kick), 7:53
Bent — Griffith 9 pass from Gean (Levin kick), :46
Third Quarter
Bent — Shackelferd 2 run (Levin kick), 4:43

Rog    Ben
First Downs    5    22
Rushes-Yards    14-30    45-238
Passing Yards    47    148
Comp-Att-Int    7-14-2    12-13-0
Punts    4-32.3    0
Fumbles-Lost    0-0    2-0
Penalites-Yards    6-32    4-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Rogers, Parker 8-29, Austin 2-13, Carpenter 1-2, Conley 1-2, Oller 1-(minus 3), TEAM 1-(minus 13). Bentonville, Shackelferd 15-78, Boedeker 6-69, Haskell 11-45, Murphy 6-24, Gean 4-15, Sanderlin 1-3, Hardison 1-2, McKane 1-2.
PASSING—Rogers, Parker 6-11-0-44, Conley 1-5-2-3. Bentonville, 10-11-0-126, Sanderlin 2-2-0-22.
RECEIVING—Rogers, Melton 3-15, Oller 2-24, Fountain 1-5, Parker 1-3. Bentonville, Edwards 3-40, Gneiting 2-34, Griffith 2-25, Snow 2-23, Trudo 1-10, Cole 1-9, Vanderpool 1-8.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

“We did a good job of bringing pressure,” Wood said. “We wanted to get pressure on him (Brown). Glad we have a good defense.”

Har-Ber’s Russ Reynerson stopped a Heritage drive early in the second half with an interception and War Eagles coach Perry Escalante said the two turnovers was too much to overcome. Brown completed 21 of 38 passes for 201 yards.

“Can’t turn the ball over, the picks just killed us,” Escalante said. “(Har-Ber’s) defense had everything to do with that. When you turn the ball over in clutch situations like that, that’s going to get you beat every time. We were right there and we had every opportunity to do that (win).

“We had an opportunity right there late on a little drive to put it away. We just missed that opportunity.”

Heritage forced overtime when Jimmy Britton scored from the 5-yard line on fourth-and-one with 3:47 left in the regulation. Britton’s run capped an 12-play, 79-yard rive that saw Brown hit Driver for 35 yards. Driver finished with seven receptions for 122 yards.

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 21, ROGERS HERITAGE 14 (OT)

Har-Ber    7    0    0    7    7    —    21
Heritage    0    7    0    7    0    —    14
First Quarter
Har — Welch 3 run (Escobar kick), 6:04
Second Quarter
Her — Entwisle 29 run (Severs kick), 11:47
Fourth Quarter
Har — Welch 14 run (Escobar kick), 7:58
Her — Britton 5 run (Severs kick), 3:47
Overtime
Har — Welch 10 run (Escobar kick)

Har    Her
First Downs    18    11
Rushes-Yards    48-199    21-26
Passing Yards    83    201
Comp-Att-Int    10-22-0    21-36-2
Punts    8-32    7-32
Fumbles-Lost    0-0    1-0
Penalties-Yards    6-40    1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Har-Ber, Welch 35-147, Luther 7-37, Pruitt 5-13, Vongvone 1-2. Heritage, Entwisle 6-48, Britton 3-14, Stewart 6-6, Snoderly 1-3, Brown 5-(minus 45).
PASSING—Har-Ber, Luther 10-22-0-83. Heritage, Brown 21-38-2-201, Stewart 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—Har-Ber, Vaughn 7-49, Stith 3-34. Heritage, Driver 7-122, Entwisle 5-30, Stewart 5-15, Fruik 3-29, Snoderly 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

Nolan drove the Rebels’ to the Purple Dogs’ 37 before being intercepted on the final play of the game. The Rebels turned the ball over five times.

“Brandon Allen had fever and was throwing up, and we were feeding him chicken noodle soup at halftime,” Patton said. “That’s the way legends are made.”

Allen completed 30 of 49 passes.

Nolan, who had three touchdown passes of his own, gave the Rebels a 26-21 lead in the fourth by hitting Quai Anderson with a 55-yard touchdown pass.

After Allen’s 8-yard TD pass to Michael Heintzman put the PurpleDogs ahead 27-26, Southside was down for the count when the Nolan-to-McGee pass was wiped out.

“I knew it was close,” Patton said. “When they (officials) went back and looked at it, that was huge.”

“That was real disappointing,” Southside coach Jeff Williams said. “That was the play of the game. We didn’t get the break, and I don’t know why.”

Fayetteville converted three straight third-and-longs on its first series, moving from its 19 to the Rebels’ 17.

But Drew Patton missed a 34-yard field goal attempt, hooking the ball wide left.

After a three-and-out, Fayetteville drove 56 yards for its first touchdown. Again, Allen made things look easy as the PurpleDogs took a 6-0 lead on Allen’s 1-yard run with 49 seconds left in the first quarter.

The PurpleDogs, who outgained Southside, 119 yards to a negative two in the first quarter, saw their lead disappear on the Rebels second possession.

Facing third-and-seven, Nolan hit Anderson with a 54-yard reception to the PurpleDogs’ 13. Three plays later, Lee Hollis bulled in from the 2 to give the Rebels a 7-6 lead.

Fayetteville responded on its next series when Allen hit Josh Hale with a 30-yard strike down the center of the field. Southside blocked the PAT and trailed 12-7 with 8:20 left in the first half.

— KEVIN TAYLOR/TR

FAYETTEVILLE 34, FS SOUTHSIDE 26

Fayettevile    6    6    9    13    —    34
Southside    0    14    6    6    —    26
First Quarter
Fay — Allen 1 run (kick failed), :49
Second Quarter
South — Hollis 2 run (Gallo kick), 10:50
Fay — J. Hale 30 pass from Allen (kick blocked), 8:20
South — Anderson 47 pass from Au. Nolan (Gallo kick), 3:18
Third Quarter
Fay — FG Rosteck 33, 4:34
South — Falleur 22 pass from Au. Nolan (Gallo kick), 2:09
Fay — Heintzman 19 pass from Allen (pass failed), :04
Fourth Quarter
South — Anderson 55 pass from Au. Nolan (pass failed), 9:16
Fay — Heintzman 8 pass from Allen (pass failed), 4:14
Fay — Hale 15 run (Rosteck kick), 1:17

Fay    South
First Downs    25    14
Rushes-Yards    26-78    24-47
Passing Yards    345    306
Comp-Att-Int    30-49-0    11-36-1
Fumbles-Lost    1-1    4-4
Punts    6-33.3    5-35.2
Penalties-Yards    9-105    8-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—Fayetteville, Hale 12-41, Allen 10-28, Heintzman 3-15, Gorton 1-(minus 6). Southside, Au. Nolan 7-27, Hollis 6-15, Adair 10-5
Passes—Fayetteville, Allen 30-49-0-345. Southside, Au. Nolan 11-36-1-306.
Receivers—Fayetteville, J. Hale 7-129, Heintzman 7-81, D. Hale 6-52, Dean 5-52, Underwood 3-17, Smith 1-9, Holmes 1-5. Southside, Anderson 4-165, A. Nolan 2-64, Falleur 2-30, Hood 1-32, Jones 1-16, Hollis 1-(minus 1).

If Holden can continue his consistent play this season with Bentonville, Mahan said, the offers will likely start piling up. Not that Holden’s motivation stems from impressing college coaches.

For now, Holden remains content blocking with his four friends up front and opening holes for the 7A-West Conference’s leading rushing attack. Holden said he’ll worry later about his football future. These days, he simply enjoys the comfort level achieved by him, Petersen, junior Marcus Danenhauer and seniors Jonathan Mortensen and Matt Hoffman.

“When you play with guys for a long time, you start to know what they do and they know what you do,” Holden said. “Everything just feels right. We know each other so well. When fronts move around, I’ll say one word, and we’ll all know what we’re doing. It makes it a lot easier.”

Football didn’t initially seem this simple to Holden, however. In fact, he didn’t start playing the sport until the ninth grade. Holden succeeded immediately, even as he appeared lost, using his physicality and what Bentonville coach Barry Lunney calls “outstanding feet” to mask his mental shortcomings.

Mahan and Lunney both remembered the first time they saw Holden at a ninth-grade workout, one of his first-ever football practices.

“You could tell he didn’t really know what was going on,” Mahan said. “But man, he was real strong and real quick.”

Holden quickly ascended up Bentonville’s depth chart, starting by the sixth week of his sophomore season. He has started every game since, constantly providing valuable leadership and crushing blocks for the Tigers.

He gained strength after his freshman and sophomore years — because of a body “that’s built for the weight room,” Mahan said — and mastered Bentonville’s blocking schemes this past summer. Holden’s even started to play defensive tackle the past two weeks, logging about 15 snaps against Fort Smith Southside and Rogers Heritage.

“These first six games, he’s been the most consistent guy on our line,” Mahan said. “He’s played with a passion, and he’s played so physical. I have a lot of trust and confidence in him.”

Holden doesn’t always display the toughness he takes out on opponents

He’s a constant jokester, always quick to make coaches and teammates laugh, often at their own expense. Holden also possesses a love for video games, spending plenty of nights on his Xbox 360, challenging his fellow linemen in online games of Call of Duty.

But every Friday night, he sets the jokes and games aside and becomes the talented guard Mahan pleads with coaches to watch.

“A couple of my friends say I’m different on Friday nights than any other time,” Holden said. “I don’t really realize it. But they say they love me. Apparently, I get pretty intense. The way I think, I’ve got to be that way. I’m only average size, so I have to be aggressive. I have to move forward. If I’m not aggressive, I’ll just be pushed back.”

And Holden rarely lets that happen.

“I’ve been happy with what we’ve been able to do lately, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. “We just have to make plays and be effective on every down. We can always rely on our defense because that group has been tremendous, but we’ve still got to lean on the offense to put up points.”

Heritage, playing only its second year of varsity football, has relied heavily on junior quarterback Reed Brown, who’s completed 108 passes for 1,524 yards and a league-high 19 touchdowns.

Brown has mostly thrown to receivers Grant Driver and Travis Entwisle, who have combined for 959 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

However, Heritage will have to deal with Har-Ber’s stringent defense, which statistically ranks first in the conference. The Wildcats have only given up 153 rushing yards (25.5 average per game) and 708 passing yards (118 per game) this season.

“They’ve got some weapons on offense, there’s no doubt,” Wood said. “It’s going to be a tough game because they’re so versatile.”

“I’ve never had the number of injuries to key players that we have had the last couple of years,” Peacock said. “And it has happened in an offense where you build everything around the quarterback. It’s just unfortunate.”

It’s no coincidence that the Mounties most successful season came when their quarterback remained upright for the entire season. In 2006, Rogers reached the 7A state championship game, where it lost 23-22 to Fort Smith Southside in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock behind the play of senior quarterback Cody Kirby.

Peacock coached at Class 5A Greenwood for seven seasons and guided the Bulldogs to the 5A state championship in 2000. Greenwood also made a trip to the finals in 1996 and made four semifinal appearances under Peacock. Rogers runs the same spread offense that Peacock used at Greenwood.

“When we were at Greenwood, the quarterback was a pretty big deal and we never lost a quarterback,” Peacock said. “Never. Some of the best years that you have, some of the best teams that you have is because you didn’t have any injuries. The state championship year (2000), we didn’t lose any of our starters.”

The Big Hurts

Kirby, now the starting quarterback at Missouri State, led the Mounties to a 12-1 record in 2006. But his sophomore season at Rogers never got off the ground after he broke an ankle in the first junior varsity game of the 2004 season. A year later, he suffered another broken ankle in the 7A-West Conference opener against Bentonville.

Kip Allen replaced Kirby at quarterback in 2005, but he never finished the year after being injured early against Springdale High the 10th week of the season.

Kirby was slated to be Johnny Brewer’s backup in 2004 and his injury proved critical when Brewer went down with a shoulder injury against Fort Smith Northside the second week of the conference schedule.

Entering the Northside game, Brewer had passed for 1,307 yards and Rogers was 3-1 overall and primed to move to 2-0 in conference play. Brewer eventually returned late in the season that year, but he was never the same as Rogers finished 4-6. A total of 12 starters missed playing time that season because of various injuries.

Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was the Springdale coach in 2004 and said at the time that losing Brewer was a devastating blow.

“Rogers was a team doing great things until their leader (Brewer) went down,” Malzahn said at the time.

And the injury wave since 2006 hasn’t subsided for the Mounties. Last season, quarterback Andy Couture (thumb) and running back/quarterback Michael Tibbs (knee) were both sidelined with season-ending injuries. Third-string quarterback Austin Young was also hobbled with an injury down the stretch.

Couture came back for his senior season fully recovered from a torn thumb ligament, but was lost for the season last week after suffering his second concussion in three weeks. In all, five different Mounties have suffered concussions this year.

Peacock said he and the Rogers staff have looked at each major injury, but can’t find a reasonable explanation for the trend.

“Why?” Peacock asked. “Is there something we are not doing? Is it our helmets, is it the turf, is it something we are doing? No, we have brand new helmets. We lift weights during the season, offseason to help with injuries.”

A Different View

North Little Rock coach Brad Bolding said the number of Rogers quarterbacks that have been injured over the past few seasons is mind boggling and something he has not witnessed in the 7A-Central Conference. Bolding was an assistant under Peacock at both Greenwood and Rogers before getting his first head coaching job at Mayflower. Bolding is in his third season in North Little Rock.

“When you look at the numbers, it is something that will shock most people,” Bolding said. “You can’t do anything about the freaky injuries and when you look at this (Rogers), you say, ‘wow, they have been unfortunate and unlucky.’”

Dr. Scott Cooper has been on the Mounties’ sidelines for 10 years and agrees with Bolding’s assessment.

“I think what appears to be an increased incidence of concussions this year is just random bad luck for the Mounties,” Cooper said. “It’s certainly true that more attention is being paid to what are now called traumatic brain injuries, but that is not new this year. For as long as I’ve been on the sideline, more than 10 years, and really longer than that with (athletic trainer) David Roller, who is very knowledgeable, professional, and conscientious, the care with which we address head injuries hasn’t changed much. These kids are wearing high-quality helmets. This year is just a strangely bad one for this type of injury.

“As for what seems like a high number of all injuries the last few years, I see no common denominator, because the injuries are so varied. Head, knee, ankle, shoulder, you name it. If I knew of something to change, we’d certainly fix it. Maybe it’s not that many. Maybe it’s just that so many higher-profile athletes have been affected.”

Learning Lesson

Regroup and move on is what Peacock is preaching to the Mounties as the team tries to move past losing Couture. There is still a lot of football left and with six teams from the West advancing to the playoffs, Peacock knows the season is far from over.

A year ago, and despite losing Tibbs and Couture, Rogers missed a trip to the playoffs after a pair of two-point losses to eventual state champion Bentonville (17-15) and Fayetteville (31-29).

“When you have an injury, there isn’t anything you can do about it,” Peacock said. “We do what you are supposed to do. We regroup and fight harder. What an unbelievable lesson for these kids. It’s important that I use this to teach these kids about life. This is a great teaching moment and a great learning lesson for these kids.

“What do you do when you get knocked down? You have to continue and go on.”

Unfortunately for Peacock and the Mounties, this is one lesson that keeps repeating itself.

Again Friday night, it wasn’t only Southside’s running game that did the trick, it was its overpowering defense, as well.

Besides holding Springdale (2-4, 0-3) to only 34 rushing yards, 12 first downs and having three interceptions, including one for a touchdown in the third quarter, Southside also ran for 182 yards on 42 carries — mostly because of two impressive games from senior David Adair and junior Lee Hollis.

Southside also had good production (22 rushing yards, 68 passing yards) from backup quarterback Austin Nolan, who replaced junior starter Hunter Whorton in the second half.

Southside coach Jeff Williams wouldn’t comment about Whorton, who suffered an apparent shoulder injury before halftime.

“(Adair and Hollis) both did a great job,” Williams said. “Springdale did a good job of stopping our running game, but we made plays when we had to make plays.”

Springdale junior quarterback Joseph Calcagni kept the Red’Dogs in the game when he threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Blake Fogg with about three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Calcagni finished with 11 completed passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns while Fogg caught five passes for 172 yards.

Springdale interim coach Dennis DeBusk said the Bulldogs are extremely close to winning their first conference game, and that it’s just going to take one or two more plays to get it done.

“Offensively, we didn’t click quite as well because we dropped a few passes, but overall, I can’t ask for a better effort from our group of kids,” DeBusk said. “We’re right there, we can’t hang our heads. We’ve got four games left, we can win any of the four ballgames, I’m stating that fact right now. Whether we win or not, I don’t know, but teams better be ready to play Springdale.”

FS SOUTHSIDE 20, SPRINGDALE HIGH 17

Southside    0    3    14    3    —    20
Springdale    7    0    3    7    —    17
First Quarter
Spring — Robinson 11 pass from Calcagni (Garcia kick), 5:27
Second Quarter
South — FG Gallo 23, :05
Third Quarter
South — Falleur 49 pass from Nolan (Gallo kick), 10:02
South — Beeler 35 interception return (Gallo kick), 3:54
Spring — FG Garcia 24, 2:19
Fourth Quarter
Spring — Fogg 80 pass from Calcagni (Garcia kick), 3:09
South — FG Gallo 41, :00

South    Spring
First Downs    18    12
Rushes-Yards    46-182    19-34
Passing Yards    180    224
Comp-Att-Int    10-17-0    11-30-3
Punts    4-27.8    4-37.5
Fumbles-Lost        4-1    0-0
Penalties-Yards    9-74    3-24

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Southside, Hollis 11-87, Adair 22-74, Nolan 10-22, Whorton 3-(minus 1). Springdale, Yager 9-33, Barkey 3-17, Johnson 2-7, Fogg 1-2, Taylor 1-(minus 2), TEAM 1-(minus 7), Calcagni 2-(minus 16).
PASSING—Southside, Whorton 6-11-0-112, Nolan 4-6-0-68. Springdale, Calcagni 11-30-3-224.
RECEIVING—Southside, Falleur 6-91, McGee 3-70, Hollis 1-19. Springdale, Fogg 5-172, Barkey 3-26, Yager 2-15, Robinson 1-11.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Southside, Gallo 38, 35.

Couture completed 11 of 16 passes for 89 yards and had a 43-yard scoring run before being hurt. Rogers coach Ronnie Peacock was left to only wonder what the final outcome would have been if Couture hadn’t been hurt.

Rogers had minus-18 yards on the ground in the second half and completed just four passes for 38 yards in the final 24 minutes.

“I know what would have happened if we had Andy but we didn’t have Andy,” Peacock said. “When he went down, it was like we couldn’t snap the ball. We just fall apart a little bit.”

Wood agreed that the outcome may have been different if Couture had played the entire game.

“It probably would have been a different story if seven (Couture) doesn’t go down,” Wood said.

Despite the lack of offense in the second half, Rogers had several chances to tie the game, thanks in part to two Har-Ber turnovers.

Rogers was poised to get good field position after stopping the Wildcats at the Har-Ber 16 but the Mounties were called for roughing the punter. Har-Ber used the change of field position to punt the Mounties back into their own territory and Rogers never threatened again.

“We thought we needed a big play, we needed something to change things and we thought we would maybe block a punt,” Peacock said. “Of course, we were close but it was not a good executed play.”

Luther completed 9 of 18 passes for 167 yards and two scores and most of that came in the first half. Luther hooked up with Stith for touchdowns of 45 and 47 yards to give the Wildcats a 21-14 lead at the half.

Rogers led 7-0 early after Har-Ber lost a fumble on its first possession and the Mounties later tied the game at 14-14 on Couture’s long touchdown run.

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 27, ROGERS HIGH 14

Har-Ber    7    14    0    6    —    27
Rogers    7    7    0    0    —    14
First Quarter
Rog — Parker 7 pass from Couture (Dunlop kick), 9:24
Har — Vaughn 8 run (Escobar kick), 5:51
Second Quarter
Har — Stith 45 pass from Luther (Escobar kick), 7:23
Rog — Couture 43 run (Dunlop kick), 6:40
Har — Stith 47 pass from Luther (Escobar kick), 3:17
Fourth Quarter
Har — Sayarinh 4 run (kick failed), 1:27

Har    Rog
First Downs    17    11
Rushes-Yards    48-229    23-8
Passing Yards    167    127
Comp-Att-Int    9-18-1    15-31-1
Punts    5-36    8-33
Fumbles-Lost    3-2    3-1
Pentalies-Yards    10-97    2-20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Har-Ber, Welch 23-105, Vaughn 11-65, Pruitt 5-30, Sayarinh 4-16, Vongvone 3-9, Vowell 1-7, Luther 2-(minus 3). Rogers, Couture 7-8, Oller 5-13, Austin 1-(minus 1), Melton 1-(minus 1), Conley 9-(minus 11).
PASSING—Har-Ber, Luther 9-18-1-167. Rogers, Couture 11-16-0-89, Conley 4-15-1-38.
RECEIVING—Har-Ber, Stith, 3-97, Pruitt 2-33, Vaughn 2-11, Welch 1-14, Nicholson 1-12. Rogers, Parker 5-61, Melton 3-21, Oller 3-2, Caton 2-8, Carpenter 1-23, Austin 1-12.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Rogers, Dunlop 34; Har-Ber, Escobar 42.

Northside (2-4, 0-3) fell behind 17-0 midway through the second quarter before the Grizzlies got the offense going. Knight hit Jerald Shepard for a 54-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 10 with 6 minutes, 52 seconds left in the first half.

On its next possession, Northside got its homecoming crowd back into the game as Arthur Poole took a screen pass and raced 90 yards for a touchdown to close the gap to 17-14.

“We got right back in it after they jumped on us early,” Henry said. “We had a chance and then we went ahead but we just couldn’t get a stop when we needed it.”

Fayetteville scored first in the second half as Dylan Hale raced 42 yards for a touchdown, giving the Bulldogs a 23-14 lead, but Northside quickly answered.

Shaquille Jones hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass, on fourth-and-6 with 4:37 in the third to cut the deficit to 23-20. Then Donnie Jones took a screen pass from Knight and went 21 yards for the go-ahead score with 2:30 left in the quarter.

Fayetteville quarterback Brandon Allen completed 29 of 56 passes for 351 yards and four touchdowns and an interception, while Northside’s Knight had his fifth 300-yard effort in as many games. Knight was 27-of-51 with four touchdowns and two interceptions.

— Bobby Swofford/TR

FAYETTEVILLE 37, FS NORTHSIDE 27

Fayetteville    10    7    6    14    —    37
Northside    0    14    13    0    —    27
First Quarter
Fay — Dean 15 pass from Allen (Patton kick), 8:39
Fay — FG Patton 47, 2:01
Second Quarter
Fay — Dean 31 pass from Allen (Patton kick), 7:56
Nor — Shepard 54 pass from Knight (Martinez kick), 6:52
Nor — Poole 90 pass from Knight (Martinez kick), 4:51
Third Quarter
Fay — Hale 42 run (kick failed), 7:52
Nor — S. Jones 25 pass from Knight (kick failed), 4:37
Nor — D. Jones 21 pass from Knight (Martinez kick), 2:30
Fourth Quarter
Fay — Dean 6 pass from Allen (Patton kick), 11:19
Fay — Heintzman 13 pass from Allen (Patton kick), 4:00

Fay    North
First Downs    22    14
Rushes-Yards    21-105    18-43
Passing Yards    351    308
Comp-Att-Int    29-56-1    27-51-2
Punts    6-36.0    6-33.5
Fumbles-Lost    4-0    2-1
Penalties-Yards    10-103    6-36

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Fayetteville,  Hale 7-63, Allen 9-32, Jordan 2-26, TEAM 3-(minus 16). Northside, Knight 13-27, D. Jones 5-15.
PASSING—Fayetteville, Allen 29-56-1-351. Northside, Knight 27-51-2-308.
RECEIVING—Fayetteville, Heintzman 13-155, Dean 6-96, D. Hale 4-41, Jordan 4-40, J. Hale 2-19. Northside, Poole 10-158, S. Jones 6-43, D. Jones 4-32, Shepard 3-63, Williams 3-12.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.