WEST POINT, Ala. – The seventh annual Brandin Iron Bowl was hosted by West Point this year and the Warriors welcomed in the Fairview Aggies to renew this county rivalry and decide a huge region game for both teams. Fairview broke open a close game in the third quarter and pulled away in the second half to defeat West Point 42-14.
West Point got the ball first to start out the game. They quickly went backwards and were forced to punt. A Barrett York 16-yard run gave the Aggies a first down at the 36. After a penalty backed Fairview to the 31, Carson Jones and Jake Harper quickly got them to midfield. An offsides penalty on the Warriors, plus a pair of Kolt Redding passes to Cade Yeager, put the Aggies at the 32. Big runs by York and Jones put them at the two, and Jones punched it in from two yards out to give Fairview a 7-0 lead with 5:51 left to go in the opening period.
A big 21-yard pass from Hunter Hensley to Parker Marks saw West Point cross midfield as that put them at the 46, but a costly penalty quickly had them behind the sticks, and they were forced to punt. Back-to-back punts gave the ball back to the Aggies, but after a huge 32-yard run by Jones, a trio of penalties had Fairview punting the ball back to the Warriors. On the third play of the series, Hensley tried to throw a quick screen pass, but it got picked off by Eric Gonzalez, who proceeded to take it 20 yards to the house to give Fairview a 14-0 lead with 7:55 remaining in the first half.
A 12-yard run by Garit Roberson, plus a six-yard pass from Hensley to Marks, had the Warriors looking to cut into the deficit. On the next play, Hensley threw a perfect 39-yard strike to Brayden Monfort in the end zone to make it a 14-7 game with 6:23 remaining until halftime. Each team traded punts on their next series. The Aggies pounded the ball right at the Warrior defense as the trio of Jones, Harper, and York helped them move the ball down the field. Jones finished off the drive with a 1-yard run to make it a 21-7 lead for Fairview. The Aggies took a 21-7 lead into the locker room.
The Aggie running game continued to wear down the Warrior defense to start out the second half. Harper got a first down on third down, then a face mask penalty on West Point moved the ball up to the 23. Harper collected another first down as Fairview had the ball at the 11, then York kept it himself and scored on the next play to push the Aggie lead to 28-7. West Point punted the ball back to Fairview, and it didn’t take long for the Aggies to find the end zone. Redding kept it himself and scored on a 21-yard run on just the third play to make it a 35-7 lead for the Aggies.
After Fairview’s Jameson Goble recovered the ball on the kickoff, they added another score on a six-yard run by York to increase their lead to 42-7. West Point put up a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a five-yard run by Roberson. The Aggies ended up winning the game, 42-14, as they have now won four straight games against the Warriors.
Jones finished with 111 yards on 12 carries and a pair of touchdowns for Fairview (5-0, 2-0). York added 96 yards on the ground and a pair of scores. Redding finished with a rushing TD for the Aggies. Gonzalez had the interception return for a touchdown, and Goble recovered a fumble. For West Point (2-3, 0-2), Hensley finished 11/24 for 104 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Roberson added 58 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Monfort finished with the 39-yard touchdown reception. J.D. Cochran recovered a fumble for the Warriors.
Fairview will be off next week, and West Point will travel to Douglas.
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