FAIRVIEW, Ala. – The Fairview Aggies entered the Friday night clash with the North Jackson Chiefs after an off week looking to make history by beating North Jackson for the first time ever and giving their head coach, George Redding, an early birthday present. An early indication of how the evening would go came when Fairview won the coin toss to begin the game and deferred its decision to the second half.
North Jackson took over at its own 20 with Fairview starting on defense. On the fourth play, Tyvn Ellis sacked quarterback Nicholas Morris for a 19-yard loss. The Chiefs were quickly put in a hole after a 14-yard punt where the Aggies took over on the North Jackson 39-yard line.
After three plays, Fairview was facing a fourth-and-1 when Parker Martin hit Mason Black for 11 yards giving the Aggies a crucial first down. Three plays later, Martin completed the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. The PAT was missed and with 6:40 to go in the first quarter Fairview led 6-0.
North Jackson’s next drive stalled when the Chiefs went for a first down at midfield on a fourth-and-10 and Fairview got the ball on downs at its own 49-yard line. Six plays later, Martin hit JT White on a 35-yard pass for a touchdown. The Aggies went for two on the PAT and were unsuccessful. With 1:35 left in the first quarter, Fairview led 12-0.
On its next drive, North Jackson managed to move the ball into Fairview territory where the Chiefs were forced to punt again. Fairview took over on its own 20-yard line. The Aggies began a 10-play, 80-yard drive consisting of nine runs and one pass. Facing a fourth-and-1 from North Jackson’s 1-yard line, Tyler Simmons scored from 1 yard out. The PAT was good, and Fairview led 19-0 with 6:15 left in the first half.
On the kickoff, Fairview executed a short pooch kick, recovering the ball at North Jackson’s 28-yard line. Six plays later, facing another fourth-and-1, Martin completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Black and a successful PAT put the Aggies up 26-0 with 2:10 left in the half.
Another Fairview sack by Black forced the Chiefs to punt. Aided by two personal foul penalties against North Jackson, the Aggies looked poised to add more points before halftime, but Martin’s pass was intercepted at the goal line by Ayson Quinn and the first half ended with the score 26-0 Fairview.
The Aggies continued the momentum they had from the first half, scoring in three plays for 60 yards. The highlight of the drive was a 51-yard touchdown run by Ellis. The PAT made the score 33-0 with 10:37 left in the third quarter.
North Jackson appeared to score on a 65-yard touchdown run by Johnny Gilliam. A holding penalty would nullify the score. After another Fairview sack, it appeared North Jackson would be forced to punt. Converting a fourth-and-12, it took an Eli Speegle interception of Morris to stop the Chiefs from scoring.
On the 10th play of the following drive, the Aggies drove to North Jackson’s 5-yard line where they were facing a fourth-and-goal. Martin’s pass fell incomplete and the Chiefs took over on downs at their 5-yard line.
On the very next play, Speegle again intercepted the pass from Morris and returned the ball to North Jackson’s 5-yard line. A personal foul penalty against the Aggies forced the drive to start on the North Jackson 25-yard line. Once again North Jackson forced Fairview into a fourth down from the 13-yard line. Martin’s run for 5 yards came up short and the Chiefs took over again inside their own 10-yard line at the 8-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs completed an eight-play scoring drive when Carter Gass ran in from 1 yard out to score. The drive’s biggest play was a 61-yard pass from Morris to Gass. The PAT was good and with 7:29 to go in the game North Jackson made the score 33-7.
An onside kick was recovered by Fairview on its own 45-yard line. On the second play, Ellis scored on a 46-yard touchdown run. After the PAT, the score was 40-7 Fairview.
North Jackson’s next drive ended when Morris fumbled after another sack by the Aggies. Fairview had great field position at the North Jackson 33. On the third play after the fumble, Black completed the game, scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run, and the final score was 47-7 Fairview.
The Aggies made history by defeating North Jackson for the first time in school history.
Redding acknowledged the early birthday present and said, “I’m very proud of how we executed at a very high level on both sides of the ball.”
Martin completed the night going 11-of-15 for 121 yards. Ellis led all rushers gaining 139 yards on 17 carries. Fairview had 435 total yards for the game compared to 234 yards for North Jackson.
Fairview improves to 4-2 on the season and 3-1 in region play. West Morgan comes to Fairview next week with a 2-5 record and 1-3 in region play.
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