JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – After edging out Arab in the opening round last week, the Fairview Aggies traveled to Jacksonville for a round two battle with the Eagles Friday night. Fairview went into the locker room holding a 7-0 lead at the break, but the Aggie offense found its rhythm in the second half, putting another 21 points on the board to secure a 28-13 win and a spot in round three.
The Aggies got off to a shaky start on offense, losing a fumble on their first offensive play of the night and giving the Eagles great field position. Fairview caught a break when Jacksonville fumbled the ball away a few plays later and the Aggies went back to work on offense. Facing fourth and inches later in the first, Fairview running back Jake Harper took a handoff up the middle and broke free for a 40-yard gain and a big first down. A couple of plays later, Harper carried it into the end zone from 10 yards out to give the Aggies an early lead. Kolt Redding split the uprights with the extra point to make it 7-0 with four minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Fairview was forced to punt the ball to the Eagles in the final minute of the first and Jacksonville put together a nice drive early in the second. The Eagles kept the chains moving and drove all the way down to the 1-yard line, but the Aggie defense stepped up after that, forcing Jacksonville to go backwards on the next two plays and forcing a 25-yard field goal attempt. Fairview blocked the kick to stay in front 7-0 with 7:22 to play in the first half. The Aggies punted a few plays later and a big return gave the Eagles excellent field position, but they fumbled the ball once again and Fairview regained possession on its own 20. A 35-yard gain on a pass from Redding to Jace Stevens got the Aggies close enough to attempt a field goal in the final seconds of the half but the kick was no good and Fairview went into the locker room leading 7-0 at the break.
Jacksonville got the ball to start the third quarter, and the Eagles put together a methodical scoring drive, punching it into the end zone to tie the game at 7 midway through the third. The Aggies and Eagles exchanged punts to close out the third quarter and Fairview’s offense was on the field at the start of the fourth.
Harper picked up 24 yards on an option play to move the chains and Stevens converted third and 4 on a jet sweep a few plays later. Jacksonville’s defense forced a short field goal attempt later in the drive but a roughing the kicker penalty gave Fairview a first down at the 4-yard line. Harper took the handoff on the next play and punched it into the end zone to give the Aggies a 14-7 lead with eight minutes remaining. The Eagles decided to air it out on the ensuing possession, but Stevens picked off a pass to give the ball back to Fairview’s offense with great field position. Not long after that, Harper ran in his third touchdown of the night to make it a 21-7 game with just five minutes on the clock.
Jacksonville didn’t go away quietly. The Eagles went down the field in a hurry and found the end zone to make it a 21-13 game. The extra point attempt was blocked, and the Aggies maintained an 8-point lead with just under three minutes to play. Fairview recovered the ensuing onside kick and facing a third down at midfield, Redding found Stevens in the flat and he took it 50 yards to the house for another Aggie touchdown, extending the lead to 28-13 with 2:25 remaining.
Jacksonville got the ball back one more time but another interception by Stevens sealed the deal for Fairview, capping a 28-13 win and punching the Aggies’ ticket to round three.
Fairview (12-0) will face Scottsboro (8-4) next week.
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