— FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Division I recruit vs. young and extremely raw defense here Friday night.

There would be no surprises.

Arkansas commit Austin Allen dictated terms against Muskogee’s defenders, leading the way to scores on all six first-half possessions and rolling up 317 passing yards in the process. The Roughers’ trip across state lines thus went accordingly, falling 55-14 to Fayetteville at Bulldog Stadium.

Allen was 14-of-18 in the half, and after the break watched from the sideline. Three of his passes were dropped. Jordan Dennis was on the end of three TD catches totaling 50, 7 and 18 yards. Dennis had 138 on 7 receptions in the half, which ended at a 42-7 count.

“We knew he was special,” MHS coach Josh Blankenship said after falling to 0-2. “We were hoping to slow him down and put some heat on him. He’s a different quarterback than what we’ve seen the past two weeks.”

Muskogee’s lone TD came on 6-yard run by Trevor Jiles, ending a 58-yard drive that made it 20-7 with 10:01 to play in the second quarter. It was an impressive drive for Jiles, who was 3-of-3 passing with two of those going to Anthony King, the longest a 17-yarder to the Bulldogs 29. Raundel Cooper’s 11-yard reception coupled with a Fayetteville face mask moved the ball to the 6, where Jiles took it in on the following play.

That momentum was short-lived.

Starting from his team’s 36, Allen hit Cole Harris up the middle in single coverage against Marcus McVay on a play covering 60 yards to the 4. Allen then kept for the remaining yardage on the next play. Harris also had triple digits receiving (3 receptions, 100 yards).

It was part of a 29-point second quarter for the defending Arkansas Class 7A champions, now 1-2 after starting against two high-caliber teams from Memphis, Tenn., and Jefferson City, Mo. They still entered the contest No. 4 in the Associated Press 7A poll in this state.

McVay would go out shortly thereafter with what Blankenship called a bruised thigh. Roger Lewis, a freshman starting at safety, left with a shoulder injury, making things no better for the youthful unit.

“You’re just hoping some guys can make something happen, but when guys you’re counting on go down, that just makes the job more difficult,” Blankenship said.

Jiles was 14-of-18 in the half for 103 yards and finished 20-of-26 for 137 yards. He rushed 7 times for 63 yards.  He led a third-quarter march, scoring from 25 yards out with 25 seconds left in the third, but was also intercepted once.

Just as happened after the Roughers’ first score, the Bulldogs answered quickly.  Nico Suarez took a pitch around the left end for 70 yards on the first play of the ensuing drive.

Quintahj Cherry relieved Jiles and two plays into the next possession was picked off by Coleson Young, who took it 28 yards to the house and a 55-14 advantage.

Anthony King led Muskogee receivers with 10 catches for 67 yards.

Muskogee’s road doesn’t get any easier heading into District 6A-2 play next Friday when the Roughers head to Broken Arrow.



FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. 55, MUSKOGEE 15

MHS    0    7    7    0–14

FHS    13    29    6    7–55



Scoring summary

First quarter

FHS – Jordan Dennis 50 pass from Austin Allen (Ryan Starr kick), 7:20.

FHS – Brice Gahagans 1 run (kick failed), 2:57.

Second quarter

FHS – Austin Allen 1 run (Starr kick), 11:42.

MHS-- Trevor Jiles 6 run (Preston Soper kick), 10:01.

FHS-- Allen 4 run (Brayden Cook run), 9:35.

FHS – Dennis 7 pass from Allen (Starr kick), 5:53.

FHS – Dennis 18 pass from Allen (Starr kick), 2:31.

Third quarter

MHS- Jiles 25 run (Soper kick),  :25.

FHS-- Nico Suarez 70 run (kick failed), 0:00.

Fourth quarter

FHS - Coleson Young 28 interception return (Starr kick), 10:52.



TEAM STATS

    MHS    FHS

First Downs    13    18

Rushes-Yards    24-137    29-196

Passing Yards    144    317

Passes CAI    22-33-2    14-18-0

Punts-Avg    5-37    2-25

Fumbles-Lost    1-1    2-1

Penalties-Yards    9-49    5-38

Individual leaders

Rushing: MHS, Jiles 7-63 (2 TD), Sammy Richardson 4-43.  FHS, Nico Suarez 5-94 (TD). Passing: MHS, Jiles 20-26-137-1. FHS, Allen 14-18-317-0 (3 TD).

Receiving: MHS, Anthony King 10-67, Bryson Bell 4-33. FHS, Dennis 7-138 (3 TD), Cole Harris 3-100.