Fayetteville shows resolve in comeback win over Cabot

So how does a team on the verge of elimination from the playoffs roar back in the second half to win the game? Fayetteville senior linebacker Kaiden Turner -- perhaps the biggest and baddest Bulldog of them all -- had the answer. "This team, we've got some fight in us," Turner shortly after Fayetteville rallied from a 27-6 deficit in the third quarter to win 34-27 over Cabot. "We're not going to lay down for nobody." They did not, and the Bulldogs' reward is a home game against Conway in the semifinals of the Class 7A state playoffs. The winner will face either Bryant or North Little Rock in the championship game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Fayetteville's comeback was led by Isaiah Sategna, the University of Arkansas commit who caught 17 passes for 261 yards and one touchdown. Jalen Blackburn caught two touchdown passes, including a diving reception in the end zone to put Fayetteville ahead 34-27 with 4:46 left in the fourth quarter. But Fayetteville wouldn't have won without a defense that shut Cabot down after Grant Freeman hit wide-open receiver Chandler Carter for a touchdown that put Cabot ahead 27-6 early in the third quarter. Ball game, right? Wrong. They play four quarters in football, not three. Ryan Maxwell provided a big play for Fayetteville when he came on a corner blitz and forced a fumble by Freeman, the Cabot quarterback. Fayetteville recovered to set up the touchdown pass from Bladen Fike to Blackburn to give Fayetteville its first lead of the game. Turner was a terror in the middle for Fayetteville and Sategna played at cornerback in the second half to help slow a Cabot offense led by Braden Jay, a fantastic player who caught a 73-yard touchdown pass and ran for a 9-yard score after taking a direct snap from center. "That's Isaiah," Fayetteville coach Casey Dick said. "That's just who he is." Do you like sequels? Yeah, me, too, especially Godfather 2, Rocky II, and, of course Toy Story 2. Sequels are common in Class 7A with only 16 teams and Fayetteville (9-2) and Conway (9-2) will come full circle Friday when the teams meet for the second time in a semifinal game at Harmon Field. Remember, Fayetteville beat Conway 41-24 to open the season way back on Aug. 27. That's the game where Sategna took a handoff and raced 80 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage for Fayetteville. Fike threw three touchdown passes, including one for 55 yards to Sategna on a play where Fike was hit hard and temporarily lost his breath after taking a hard hit. "I was freaking out at the moment not being able to breathe," Fike said nearly four months ago after that win over Conway to start the season. "But after I saw the pass was caught for a touchdown, it was a great feeling." That's the bulldog in Fike, who received his first Division I offer Middle Tennessee two weeks ago. But any final decisions on his college destination will have to wait for Fike and Fayetteville, which beat North Little Rock 53-19 at War Memorial in 2016. Beating a quality team twice in one season is difficult and Fayetteville has the added burden of being the lone survivor from the 7A-West after Conway trampled Rogers 49-0. Three-time defending state champion Bryant moved a step closer after beating Fort Smith Northside 42-10 in another quarterfinal game on Friday. I saw a video highlight where the Bryant quarterback ran over a Northside defender at the goal line then looked at him like he was a squashed bug on a windshield. Yes, they're tough. But Fayetteville is tough, too, as witnessed by its comeback victory over Cabot. Predictions? Not yet. All I know is fans expect plenty more fireworks when Conway comes calling a second time Friday at Harmon Field.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Fayetteville High School Athletics

FAYETTEVILLE SHOWS RESOLVE IN COMEBACK WIN OVER CABOT

RICK FIRES

NWA Democrat-Gazette | 11/21/2021