Fairview’s Dalton Payne makes a tackle during Friday night’s shutout of Priceville. (Nick Griffin for The Cullman Tribune)
FAIRVIEW – It was homecoming in Fairview Friday night and the Aggies on the field gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about. The Fairview offense got off to a slow start in the first half, but after some halftime adjustments to go along with a dominant defensive performance, the Aggies pulled away with a convincing 35-0 win over region foe Priceville.
The Bulldogs received the opening kickoff, but Fairview defensive back Dante Dumas quickly ended the opening possession with an interception that he ran all the way inside the Priceville 15-yard line. On the very next snap, Aggies quarterback Dayne Black put the home team up 7-0 with a 13-yard touchdown run.
Both offenses struggled for the majority of the opening half, and after the two teams traded a muffed punt and a fumble, the Aggies went into the locker room with a 7-0 lead at the break.
The second half was a different story for Fairview’s offense. The Aggies received the kick to start the third quarter and almost immediately, Fairview running back Tyvn Ellis burst through the defense for a 63-yard touchdown to take a 13-0 lead. Ellis finished the night with 98 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
The Aggies weren’t done.
Black scored his second touchdown of the night from 2-yards out on the next possession to stretch the lead to 21-0. Fairview’s defense continued to keep Priceville in check, allowing some yards on the ground but keeping the Bulldogs out of the end zone.
Black crossed the goal line a third time early in the fourth quarter with another 13-yard rushing touchdown and Mason Black officially put the game away with an 18-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to go up 35-0. Dayne Black led the way for Fairview offensively, racking up 127 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
After the game, Aggies Head Coach George Redding talked about how his defense performed during the shutout win.
“I felt like the defense played extremely consistent. We had our concerns coming into the game; they’ve got an outstanding quarterback and running game and they’ve run the ball on everybody they’ve played so that was a major concern this week,” Redding said. “It was important for our guys to play well up front defensively and I felt like they did, consistently.”
The Aggies scored on all of their second-half possessions and Redding credits that to some halftime adjustments up front.
“Their play-side linebacker was doing a phenomenal job and getting over the top, and I think our offensive line coach did a great job making adjustments to help our guys get to the second level,” Redding said. “Our double teams were much better at the point of attack and I feel like everyone made the plays that came to them.”
We’re still in the first half of the 2018 season, but Redding has already seen his team start to rally behind one another and improve week-to-week.
“I’m proud of our kids, I’m proud of our coaches, I’m proud of our fans and it was a good homecoming night. This group has had its adversity and all teams have it, but we’ve had our fair share,” Redding said. “We’re low in numbers and we’re very young so we’ve got a lot of growing to do, but the guys have hung tight and pulled together and they keep loving on each other and keep working hard every day. We’re learning how to be men every day and I couldn’t be prouder.”
The Aggies, now 2-3 on the season, will look to stay in the win column next week when they travel to Stevenson to take on North Jackson.
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