FAIRVIEW, Ala. – The Arabian Knights made the short trip down SR-69 for a first-round battle at Dafford Smith Stadium Thursday night, and it was the first time these two neighboring schools have played one another since 1977. The score was knotted at 7 after a physical first half but Fairview scored early in the third to pull ahead 14-7. The Aggie defense dominated in the second half, keeping Arab out of the end zone in the final 24 minutes to secure a spot in round two.
Arab converted third and long to keep the chains moving on its opening possession, but Kolt Redding intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop the drive and give the ball to the Aggie offense. Jake Harper ripped off a big run to get Fairview up to its own 40-yard line and a few plays later, Redding hit Jordan Ellis in the flat and Ellis did the rest, taking it for 30 yards and a touchdown to give the Aggies an early lead. Redding knocked through the extra point and Fairview led 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
The Knights put together a nice drive on the ensuing possession but were stopped on fourth down by the Aggie defense and Fairview’s offense took over in the final minute of the first quarter. However, the Aggies were also forced to turn the ball over on downs midway through the second quarter and Arab captured some momentum in the final minutes of the half. The Knights faked a punt on fourth and short to move the chains with just over four minutes to play in the second and on the next play, quarterback Nicolas Stephens hit Dylan Kirkland downfield for 47 yards and a touchdown. Ty Kirkland drilled the extra point to tie things up at 7. That was the end of the scoring in the opening half, and we went to the break with both teams knotted at 7.
Fairview got off to a fast start in the third quarter, putting together a methodical drive made up of tough runs by Harper and Redding. Harper capped the scoring drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and put the Aggies back in front 14-7 with just under eight minutes remaining in the third. Arab got a nice drive going early in the fourth quarter, but the Knights were flagged for offensive pass interference on third and long, forcing them to punt it away with eight minutes to play.
The next Fairview possession started on the Aggies’ own 10-yard line. More tough running from Harper moved the ball out near midfield but Fairview was forced to punt a few plays later and the Knights got the ball back on their own 16 with four minutes on the clock. Arab was able to drive the ball out to its own 44-yard line but came up just short on fourth down and turned the ball over to Fairview with 1:57 remaining. The Knights used their timeouts and were able to get one more possession with less than a minute to play but an interception by the Aggies put the game out of reach for Arab and Fairview held on to win it 14-7.
Fairview will face either Jacksonville or Ramsay in the second round next week.
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