Bryant on a different level than Class 7A competition

Fayetteville fans got to see firsthand what Bentonville West coach Bryan Pratt warned about after the Wolverines lost 38-0 last week at Bryant.

“They’re a legit No. 1 team,” Pratt said. “They’re the best team we’ve played in a long time.” No kidding.

The defending state champions strolled into Harmon Field on Friday and rolled the Bulldogs 42-13. Bryant looks even better than last year when the Hornets won the Class 7A state championship with an 11-2 record.

At this point, there is a big gap in Class 7A with Bryant No. 1 and everyone else following well behind, including Fayetteville, which began the night No. 3. But there’s still a long ways to go, and things can change like last year when Bryant defeated North Little Rock in the championship game.

Fayetteville could get a second chance with Bryant because rematches are inevitable in Class 7A, where 12 of the 16 teams advance to postseason play. It happened last year when Bryant eliminated Fayetteville 28-25 from the playoffs after losing 36-35 during the regular season. But Friday’s game was a rout, starting on Fayetteville’s first possession when Darrick Rose stepped in front of a short pass and returned an interception for a touchdown.

The three interceptions that hurt Fayetteville in a loss at Owasso, Okla., followed the team home to Harmon Field. Fayetteville suffered two interceptions against a Bryant defense led by Catrell Wallace, a 6-foot-6 linebacker who is committed to Arkansas. That bodes well for Arkansas, including assistant coach Steve Caldwell, who watched Wallace from the sidelines.

Teams will have to perform at a high level just to stay on the field with Bryant, which also has a beast of a running back in Ahmad Adams to complement a passing game directed by Austin Ledbetter, who’ll play baseball at Arkansas next season. Fayetteville had Bryant pinned deep in the first half when Adams followed a block by center Devin Pitts around right end and sprinted to near midfield. Ledbetter then threw a touchdown pass to give Bryant a 21-0 lead.

Fayetteville managed a score before Adams scored his third touchdown of the first half to increase the Bryant lead to 35-6.

Bryant scored quickly in second half to go ahead 42-6 and invoke the sportsmanship rule with a running clock. That’s the first time that has happened to Fayetteville since a 41-6 loss to Bentonville to begin 7A-West Conference play in 2011.

Adams sat with the other Bryant starters and mostly relaxed in the fourth quarter, which was quite the contrast from when the Hornets beat Fayetteville in overtime the last time they were at Harmon Field.

“I was a sophomore then, and it was probably the most intense game I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Adams, an Arkansas State commit who will play linebacker for the Red Wolves. “We knew Fayetteville had a strong punch, and we were able to come out this time and punch first.”

Bryant now turns its focus to the start of 7A-Central Conference play at Fort Smith Northside while Fayetteville transitions toward its 7A-West opener at Bentonville West.

Fayetteville has much work to do after losing to powerful nonconference opponents like Bryant and Owasso, the top-ranked team in Oklahoma’s Class 6A. Coach Casey Dick will keep his team upbeat and remind them the second season is about to start with all teams in Class 7A 0-0 in conference play.

Fayetteville knows the standard in 7A, and that is Bryant, which is playing at another level than everyone else in the state.