FAIRVIEW, Ala. – Friday night was a historic one at Dafford Smith Stadium. The Aggies hammered the Brewer Patriots 55-13, but the real story of the night was Eli Frost. Frost has been a nightmare for opposing defenses so far this fall and against the Patriots, Frost set new single season school records for rushing yards (1,930) and rushing touchdowns (33) and the former record holder, Aggies great Matt Black, was in attendance to celebrate with the new record holder.
“It’s amazing. I always knew that I wanted to be in this moment and my team helped me get there,” Frost said after the game. “I’ve got the best offensive line in the state, and I love it. I’m blessed. It means so much to break a couple of records tonight. I know I ain’t showing it now; it’s because I want to keep working. There are so many more goals to reach. This is just a milestone,” Frost said. “It’s great getting a huge region win tonight. I think if we get this next one, we’ll be hosting a playoff game, so that’s huge. We just got to keep working.”
Frost not only broke a couple of records on homecoming night, he broke them on head coach George Redding’s birthday, which means so much to him.
“I’m sure coach Redding loves it. I know he does. He means so much to me. We’ve even had other coaches saying it, but we’ve got the best coaches around. They know so much about football, and they put in so much work, it’s crazy. On the weekends, they’re up here, watching film, dissecting everything. I know this means a lot to him. It feels like it really paid off more.”
Frost never would have imagined that he would have an incredible season and he quickly gave credit to the guys up front for helping lead the way.
“I knew this season was going to be a good one because I put in so much work during the offseason. I’m blessed,” he said. “The offensive line means so much to me. I tell them every day, I couldn’t do this without you all. Everybody was saying, ‘You got the record,’ and I was like, ‘No, we got the record.’ We could tell our kids the 2022 team got the record.”
Fairview got the ball first to start the game and Jameson Goble picked up 25 yards on the first play of the series. A few carries to Frost and a Garrett York eight-yard pass to Goble quickly had the Aggies at the 19-yard line. Two plays later, Frost took off down the right sideline as he scored on a 14-yard run to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead with 9:52 remaining in the opening period. The highlight of Fairview’s first defensive series was a Carson Jennings sack on third down that forced a Brewer punt.
Frost broke runs of 14 and 33 yards on the Aggies’ next series before he finished things off with a seven-yard score to make it 14-0 with a little over six minutes to go in the first quarter. Fairview’s defense forced the Patriots to turn the ball over on downs on its next series and the Aggies quickly found themselves backed up at the six. As quick as a flash, Frost helped get them out of that hole as he broke free for a 42-yard run. Two plays later, he broke a record as his 44-yard touchdown run not only gave Fairview a 21-0 lead, but with that run, Frost broke the record for most touchdowns in a single season with 29 and there was a little ceremony after his touchdown run as he was given the record-breaking ball.
Jake Harper got a sack on the Aggies’ next possession, and they forced another Brewer punt. The Aggies were forced to punt on its next series, but they got the ball back after the Patriots turned the ball over on downs. Frost broke runs of 15 and 18 yards during the drive and his 15-yard score to end the series put Fairview up, 28-0. Another Brewer punt gave the ball back to Fairview and in just three plays, Frost found the end zone for the fifth time in the first half as his 39-yard scamper made it 35-0. Frost ended up finding the end zone once more before the end of the first half as he broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run to push Fairview’s lead to 42-0. Another Harper sack to end the first half helped keep the score at 42-0 at the half.
The second half saw the Patriots find the end zone on a one-yard run, but Frost’s huge night was not over just yet. He picked up a first down on a 10-yard run and two plays later, another record was broken as Frost’s 32-yard touchdown run made it 49-7. With that run, Frost broke the single-season Fairview rushing record (1,930), passing former Fairview great Matt Black. Carson Jones added a five-yard score for the Aggies later in the fourth quarter and the Patriots scored on a five-yard touchdown pass to put the final score at 55-13. Frost ended up finishing the night with 411 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. Jones added 43 more yards rushing and a touchdown. Harper ended up with a pair of sacks for the Aggies (6-1, 4-0), who are in a first-place tie with Russellville in Class 5A, Region 8.
Fairview will face off against Lawrence County on the road in another region game next Friday night.
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