FAIRVIEW, Ala. – After advancing past Carver-Birmingham last week, the Fairview Aggies returned to the field Friday night to host the Leeds Green Wave in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs. Fairview trailed at the half and made a late second-half comeback to get back in the game, but fell just short at the end, 36-22.
Fairview got the ball at their own 31-yard line to start out the game and pounded the ball right at the Green Wave defense, as Jake Harper picked up a first down on fourth down from the 40. Later on in the drive, an offsides penalty kept the Aggie drive alive, then three plays later, Kolt Redding picked up a first down on the ground and a face mask penalty after the play put the ball at the 27. The trio of Harper, Redding, and Carson Jones helped Fairview get to the one, and Harper finished off the 16-play, 69-yard drive with a one-yard run to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter.
The Green Wave picked up a pair of first downs: a 31-yard pass, and an 11-yard run, and that helped them get to the 26. Three plays later, a 12-yard pass put them at the nine, and they scored on the next play to tie the game up at seven with 10:41 remaining in the first half. Fairview’s offense was struggling to get anything going on its next drive, but a holding penalty on third down kept their drive alive. Unfortunately, they went backwards and were forced to punt.
A 41-yard run on first down was later followed by a 17-yard pass, as Leeds quickly moved the ball to the 29. An 11-yard run put them at the 14, and three plays later, they punched it in from five yards out to take a 14-7 lead with 2:23 remaining in the first half. The Aggies were forced to punt on its final series of the first half, and they went into the locker room trailing 14-7.
Leeds continued their momentum that they had in the first half into the third quarter, as they quickly moved the ball to the 27. Two plays later, they broke free for a 23-yard run to push their lead to 21-7 almost two minutes into the third quarter. A 17-yard run by Harper on the first play of the opening drive was a promising start for Fairview, but they coughed up the ball three plays later, and Leeds recovered the ball at the 44.
Their running game continued to give Fairview’s defense fits, and they finished off their drive by scoring from 11 yards out to stretch their lead to 28-7 with 5:28 remaining in the quarter. On the first play of its next series, Harper found a big hole on the right side and scored on a 57-yard scamper to cut it to 28-14 17 seconds later. That run brought new life into the defense, as they forced a Green Wave punt on its next series. Harper broke free for a 31-yard run on third down to put the Aggies at the 22. Redding collected another first down later on that drive, as the ball was now at the nine.
The Aggies were faced with fourth down from the one, and Harper got stuffed for no gain, giving the ball back to Leeds. The Aggie defense, though, forced a safety on the first drive to cut it to 28-16. The Aggies got the ball at the 40 after the free kick, and a face mask penalty on the Green Wave quickly moved the ball up to the 23. Later on that drive, Redding picked up a huge first down on fourth down to keep its series alive. Another Leeds penalty, this time on fourth down, gave Fairview new life again, and Redding went in untouched from two yards out to make it a 28-22 game with less than six minutes left to go in the game.
Fairview’s defense needed one more big stop to get the ball back and try to win the game, but the Green Wave didn’t let that happen, as they milked almost four minutes off the clock during the drive, which ended with them scoring on a 27-yard run to give them a 36-22 lead. Leeds picked off a Redding pass on their final series to help seal their 36-22 win over the Aggies. Fairview finishes an amazing season with a 10-1 record.
Harper finished with 166 yards on 21 carries and a pair of touchdowns for the Aggies. Redding added 40 yards on the ground and a score.
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