GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – The Fairview Aggies entered the third week of the season ranked no. 9 in Class 5A in the state. Standing in their way, the Guntersville Wildcats, ranked no. 6 in Class 5A in Alabama. Fairview was fresh off its win against cross-county rival Vinemont. Guntersville defeated its Marshall County neighbor Arab last week. The Class 5A top 10 meeting took place at Guntersville’s Phil Isom field on a pleasant early September night. Guntersville defeated Fairview 48-12.
Fairview took the opening kickoff on its own 26-yard line. Tyler Simmons took a handoff on the opening play and was tackled 22 yards later. Parker Martin added a 17-yard run as the Aggies scored a touchdown on an eight straight runs to complete a 74-yard drive. The extra point was no good and the Aggies led 6-0 with 8:57 left in the first quarter.
Guntersville tried a trick play on its first snap. Running back Logan Pate lined up at quarterback and handed off to quarterback Cole McCarty running across the formation. McCarty stopped and passed to a wide open Jack Harris for an apparent 44-yard gain. An ineligible receiver downfield penalty against the Wildcats erased the long gain. After the penalty, Guntersville settled down and went on a 12-play touchdown drive capped off by a scoring pass from McCarty to Harris. With 4:44 left in the first quarter, Guntersville took to the lead on a successful extra point 7-6.
After Fairview stalled on its first drive of the second quarter, Guntersville wasted no time in scoring on a two-play, 89-yard touchdown drive. On the second play, McCarty completed a 78-yard touchdown pass to Harris. With 9:11 left in the first half, the Wildcats led 14-6.
Both teams had promising drives end in turnovers. Guntersville’s Pate fumbled at midfield. The Aggies appeared to be driving for a touchdown when Guntersville intercepted Martin in the end zone, ending the first half with Guntersville leading 14-6.
Guntersville took the second-half kickoff and scored quickly on a six-play touchdown drive capped off when Pate completed a 35-yard pass to Bandon Fussell. The touchdown drive was aided by an acrobatic catch of 34 yards by Harris. With 10:16 left in the third quarter, the score was 21-6 in favor of Guntersville.
Fairview put together a 10-play drive that ended when Guntersville intercepted Martin’s pass at the 10-yard line. A penalty against Fairview gave the Wildcats the ball on their own 37. Again the passing tandem of McCarty-Harris for Guntersville hurt the Aggies with a 42-yard completion. With 3:14 left in the third quarter Guntersville extended its lead to 28-6.
Fairview’s only other drive of the third quarter ended on a fourth-down quarterback sack by Guntersville giving the ball back to the Wildcats on their own 37-yard line.
McCarty-Harris hooked up on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 27-yard completion. McCarty added a 21-yard run and Jerrell Williamson ran in for the 2-yard touchdown, and with 11:05 to go in the game the Wildcats led 34-6.
On Fairview’s first possession of the fourth quarter, Guntersville again forced a turnover when Almir Lorenzo intercepted Martin’s pass and returned the ball to Fairview’s 15-yard line. On the third play McCarty completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Davidson and the score quickly became 41-6 with 9:04 left in the game.
After a Fairview three-and-out, the Wildcats scored their final touchdown with 5:12 to go in the game when Antonio Spurgeon scored on a 1-yard run to extend the lead to 48-6.
Fairview completed the scoring on a 12-play touchdown drive when Caiden Hall completed a 14-yard pass to Preston Ryan, and the final score was 48-12 Guntersville.
After the game, Fairview Coach George Redding said, “We’ve had better days. We’ll have better days. I’m very proud of our guys. We’ll bounce back.”
Fairview travels to Douglas next week.
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