Graves another reliable receiver threat for Fayetteville | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

FAYETTEVILLE – Fayetteville’s opponents face a difficult dilemma.

How do you contain one of the state’s top receivers when he’s also part of a deep receiving corps?

Jaison DeLamar returns for his final season after catching 89 passes for 1,438 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. Opponents facing Fayetteville will also have to deal with senior receiver Charlie Graves, who caught 44 passes for 506 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.

There’s also junior Catavion Taylor and senior Ty Mattingly, both of whom contributed in the passing game as Fayetteville crushed Cabot 48-13 to open the season last week. Add in senior quarterback Garyt Odom, and opposing defensive coordinators have their work cut out to prepare for Fayetteville, which won the Class 7A state championship last year with a 13-0 record.

“We know we have the best receiving corps by far, and that makes it easier on Jaison,” Graves said. “Sometimes Jaison gets in his face because they have to come defend us. Sometimes we get in his face because they’re going to defend Jason. People have to pick their poison, I think.”

The difficulty of game-planning against Fayetteville’s offense was evident in back-to-back 7A-West games last season. DeLamar ravaged Bentonville West with five touchdown receptions in a 55-21 victory. The following week, Graves had seven receptions and the game-winning touchdown in a 47-42 victory over Rogers.

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Fayetteville coach Casey Dick said Graves combines his skills and experience with his football acumen.

“Charlie is a guy for us who is like an extension of our coach on the field,” Dick said. “He’s played a lot. He has a veteran approach and a lot of knowledge that he uses.”

Like DeLamar, Graves plays baseball and football for Fayetteville. But unlike DeLamar, who signed with the University of Arkansas, Graves has yet to receive any solid offers to pursue a baseball career in college.

“He’ll get it, for sure,” DeLamar said confidently of his friend and teammate.

In the meantime, Graves and his Fayetteville teammates are focused on Friday’s game in Broken Arrow, Okla., which opened the season with a 42-21 victory over Springdale Har-Ber. Graves said he knows Broken Arrow is a traditional power that wants to prove last year’s 3-8 record was a fluke.

“We know Broken Arrow is going to be loud with the student section and everybody going there,” Graves said. “We’ve been training for that. Our preparation is for the game and also for the crowd and the added intensity that we know being (defending) state champions will bring.”

Graves and DeLamar lead Fayetteville’s latest receiving corps with multiple threats. Current Ouachita Baptist receivers Connor Flannigan and Beau Stuckey combined to torch Fayetteville opponents with 165 receptions, 33 touchdowns and over 2,500 receiving yards in 2018. Jalen Blackburn was a dangerous second option in 2021 as current Arkansas receiver Isaiah Sategna caught 100 passes for 1,908 yards and 17 touchdowns.

So DeLamar said he knows the benefits of the company he keeps.

“Our offense has so many weapons. I don’t have to be overloaded with the ball,” said DeLamar, who threw two touchdowns last week at Cabot. “Our skill set is definitely an advantage. We can distribute the ball and everybody can make plays.”

Fayetteville won’t be done with out-of-state competition after Friday’s game in Broken Arrow, Okla. The Texarkana (Texas) Tigers will make an appearance Sept. 20 when Fayetteville plays its home opener at Harmon Field.

Fayetteville will then begin the defense of its 7A-West Conference championship at home against Bentonville West on Sept. 27.

“Any time you win a championship, you know everybody’s going to be looking at you,” Graves said. “We know it’s going to happen. We expect it and we train for it.”