RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. – Fairview hit the road for a huge regional matchup at Russellville Friday night but unfortunately for Aggies fans, the Tigers were able to hand Fairview its first loss of the season 31-14.
The Tigers ended their opening possession with a field goal to take an early, 3-0 lead over the Aggies. Fairview was forced to punt on the ensuing possession but pinned Russellville down inside the 2-yard line with around four minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Tigers were forced to punt but the next Aggies possession was cut short by an interception.
Fairview held Russellville to a field goal attempt and the kick sailed wide right to keep the score at 3-0 with just under 10 minutes to play in the second quarter. Following an Aggies punt midway through the second, the Tigers’ next drive ended with a fumble recovered by Cade Yeager. Fairview punted the ball back to Russellville with around two minutes remaining in the first half, but the Tigers were able to put some points on the board before the break. A big run down the home sideline moved the Russellville offense out near midfield with 1:07 on the clock and with just seven ticks left in the second quarter, the Tigers punched one into the end zone from 2 yards out to take a 10-0 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.
Russellville and Fairview exchanged punts to start the third quarter, but the Tigers scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass on their next possession to extend their lead to 17-0 with seven minutes to play in the third. The Aggies were able to make some big plays through the air on the ensuing possession and Kolt Redding found Yeager streaking down the Fairview sideline for a 35-yard touchdown to get the Aggies on the board and cut the lead to 17-7.
Fairview was able to hold Russellville out of the end zone on fourth and goal on the next possession and keep the lead at 10 but the Aggies’ next punt was blocked, and the Tigers took over inside the 10-yard line. Just a few plays later, Russellville punched one into the end zone and moved in front 24-7 with just under eight minutes remaining in the fourth. Another Tigers touchdown made it a 31-7 game late in the fourth quarter, but Fairview was able to find the end zone one more time in the final seconds when Redding hit Zayden Cruce on an 8-yard touchdown pass, bringing the final score to 31-14.
The loss at Russellville is the first of the season for the Aggies (8-1) and they’ll be back home next week to cap off the regular season against Randolph.
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