FAIRVIEW, Ala. – On a clear and cold Friday night in Holly Pond, the Fairview Aggies traveled the short distance to play the Broncos in the final regular season football game for both teams. Fairview is headed to the playoffs as Holly Pond finishes its season.
Both teams were forced to punt on their first possessions of the ballgame. After another punt by Holly Pond, the Aggies took over on their own 30-yard line. A 36-yard pass from Parker Martin to J.T. White and a 19-yard run by Tyvn Ellis helped Fairview overcome a high snap, 12-yard fumble for loss. Holly Pond assisted with a roughing the passer penalty as Ellis scored the game’s first touchdown on a 2-yard run. With 1:07 left to go in the first quarter Fairview’s lead was 7-0.
Holly Pond continued its third drive of the game into the second quarter. Aided by Fairview penalties, Holly Pond scored when Kyler Chaney completed a 35-yard pass to Landon Perkins for a touchdown. The 2-point conversion was good by Chaney and Holly Pond led the game 8-7 with 10:09 left in the half.
Holly Pond attempted an onside kick which Fairview returned to the Broncos’ 48-yard line. A 44-yard run by Martin and a facemask penalty against Holly Pond put the Aggies on the 2-yard line and Ellis scored on a 2-yard run with 9:33 to go in the first half, giving the Aggies a 14-8 lead.
After a Holly Pond punt, Fairview took over on its own 17-yard line to begin the next drive. A 12-play drive put the Aggies in scoring position. With a first-and-goal from the Holly Pond 6-yard line, the Aggies were pushed back 6 yards by Holly Pond’s defense where they faced a fourth-and-11. Martin’s pass fell incomplete and the goal line stand by the Broncos was successful. The 16-play drive by the Aggies consumed so much time that Holly Pond took a knee, and the half ended with Fairview leading 14-8.
The Aggies continued controlling the clock in the second half. Fairview used a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive to increase its lead to 21-8 with 7:13 left in the third. The drive was completed when Ellis scored on a 5-yard run.
Holly Pond had only one possession in the third quarter. Going into the fourth, Fairview continued a 12-play drive by scoring on the first play of the quarter. A 5-yard pass from Martin to Mason Black made the score 28-8 with 11:54 left to go in the game.
Holly Pond’s struggles continued and the Broncos were forced to punt. The Aggies took over on their own 36-yard line. Nine plays later, Ellis finished the game’s scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run to help the Aggies pull away and win the game 35-8.
Fairview’s strategy of ball control held the Broncos to just 111 yards of total offense for the game. Chaney led Holly Pond with 52 yards rushing on 13 carries while passing for 29 yards. Fairview’s Ellis rushed for 128 yards on 28 carries. Martin was 13-of-17 passing for 169 yards.
Holly Pond Head Coach Mike Bates revealed earlier this week that Friday night’s game would be his last as the leader of the Broncos.
On finishing his tenure at Holly Pond, he said, “A great school, lots of great kids, lots of great people in this community. I’m very proud of all the players I’ve had here during my time at Holly Pond.”
Fairview Coach George Redding said on the win, “Any win over your rival is good. Considering the weather we’ve had, the field was in good condition. I’m proud of how our team competed all night.”
Fairview will be home for its first-round playoff game next week as Central High School, Florence (3-7) comes to town.
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