PERFECT SEASON

Purple reigns as the best in Arkansas 7A football.

Fayetteville defeated Bentonville 22-16 in the state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock to cap the program’s first undefeated season in the playoff era. The team finished the season 13-0, all against 7A competition.

The Purple Dogs won their sixth state championship and first since 2016. It was the first state title under fifth-year Fayetteville coach Casey Dick.

Senior quarterback Drake Lindsey passed for 355 yards and threw a 30-yard touchdown to Lach McKinney to earn most valuable player honors at the championship game. Lindsey finished the season with 52 touchdown passes, a record in Arkansas’ highest classification.

Fayetteville running back Christian Setzer rushed for a pair of touchdowns, including the go-ahead 6-yard touchdown with 7:35 remaining. The Purple Dogs went ahead 22-16 when Lindsey threw a 2-point pass to McKinney, a senior who had 3 catches for 34 yards in his most extensive playing time back from injury.

Bentonville (9-4) reached the Fayetteville 13-yard line in the closing minutes, but an offensive holding penalty backed up the Tigers, and the Purple Dogs forced a turnover on downs. Bentonville quarterback Carter Nye, who passed for 329 yards and both of his team’s touchdowns, threw incomplete on third and fourth downs.

Lindsey took three kneel downs in the final minute to seal the win and set off a celebration on the field and in the stands. Thousands of purple-clad Fayetteville fans were among the announced 11,710 in attendance.

The Tigers made it much closer than the earlier meeting between the teams, a 42-21 victory by Fayetteville on Oct. 13 at Harmon Field. Bentonville entered the championship game on a 5-game winning streak, including a 52-35 victory at Bryant in the semifinals, which ended the Hornets’ run of 5 consecutive state championships.

Fayetteville defeated Conway 24-21 in the semifinal round. Nathan Kachel kicked a 27-yard field goal with 5:28 remaining in that game for the go-ahead points.

In its first playoff game, Fayetteville defeated Fort Smith Southside 30-24 at Harmon Field. With the win over Conway, Fayetteville improved to 19-2 at home since the beginning of the 2021 season.

The Purple Dogs’ defense made key plays near the end of all three playoff games. Fayetteville held Bentonville and Conway — the 7A’s top scoring team at the time of each game — to their lowest point outputs of the season.

Fayetteville defeated Bentonville for the third time in five state championship game matchups. The teams met four times in Little Rock between 2010-14.

The Purple Dogs improved to 6-2 against the Tigers in playoff games and to 57-27-2 all-time against Bentonville in a series that dates to 1926. Fayetteville has won three of the last four games against the Tigers, who have not lost to another 7A-West opponent since 2016.

The 2023 team joins state champions from Fayetteville in 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016. The Purple Dogs had never played in a state championship game before winning their first title, but have played in nine of the last 17.

Fayetteville was state runner-up to Bryant in 2021 when this year’s seniors were sophomores. Bentonville lost to Bryant in the 2022 championship game and finished runner-up for the second season in a row.

The Purple Dogs finished the season with a 9-0 record against 7A-West competition and extended their winning streak to 12 games against teams from the conference. Fayetteville became the conference’s first state champion in seven years.

Eight Fayetteville players earned All-State honors. Lindsey and receiver Jaison DeLamar were on the All-State offense. The All-State defense included defensive ends Trey Lisle and Kaden Spencer, linebackers Rhett Tidwell and Landon Jones, and defensive backs Isaiah Taylor and Kasey Lehman.

The All-State players all had key plays in the championship game. DeLamar caught 8 passes for 94 yards from Lindsey, including an 18-yarder on third-and-9 to set up Setzer’s first touchdown run in the third quarter.

That 13-play, 85-yard drive gave Fayetteville a 14-10 lead after Bentonville took a 10-7 advantage to halftime.

Defensively, Spencer had 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack and forced a fumble; Lisle blocked an extra-point attempt; Tidwell tied defensive back Eli Rose for the team lead with 7 tackles and recovered a fumble to set up the game-winning score; Lehman had 4 tackles and recovered a fumble; Jones had 6 tackles and 3 quarterback hurries, including on the Tigers’ final offensive play, the fourth-down pass that was broken up by Taylor.

The Purple Dogs had several other players earn All-Conference. The first team included receiver Mason Spencer, offensive linemen Desmond Peterson and Crew Kvern, defensive tackles Jaxon Oliver and Isaiah Perez, and defensive back Isaac Pearson.

Setzer, Rose, Kachel, receiver Charlie Graves and linebackers Jeff Miller and Noah Janski earned second-team All-Conference.

Defensive backs Walker Evins and Joey Ogden, linebackers Jadon Holte and Reid Slankard, offensive linemen Eli Carpenter, Rylan Lunningham and Drake Orsburne, receivers Landon Lucke and Catavion Taylor, and tight end Connor Kryzanowsky were named honorable mention All-Conference.

Linebacker Luke Roblee earned 7A-West defensive newcomer of the year.

Dick was named the 7A-West coach of the year for the second time. He improved to 40-19 overall at Fayetteville, and to 6-4 in the playoffs.