The Fairfield Eagles scored 21 straight points and forced two late turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtime and turned away the Salado Eagles 42-35 in Salado.
The Eagles won the district opener and have passed their season win total from a year ago and now have a good chance to move into driver’s seat with four games remaining.
Fairfield took the opening kickoff and scored the first points of the game. Quarterback Chad Rushin connected with Avery Archibald for a 30-yard conversion on a third down. Kadarius Walker carried it to the 13 and Jar-Mychael Hudson sprinted up the middle for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Fairfield defense forced a punt at midfield and the punt pinned Fairfield back at the five-yard line. On the second play of the drive, the ball popped loose and Tommie Barker pounced on it and Salado had the ball only two yards away from the tying score. On first down, Aaron Torczynski scored on the two-yard run to tie the score.
Salado worked into scoring position on their next possession. After a short punt, Salado used seven plays and on a third and seven from the 22, quarterback Hayden Haire tossed across the middle to Torczynski for the touchdown and the hometown Salado Eagles took the 14-7 lead.
Salado tried a fake punt and they were stopped short of the first down and Fairfield took over at the Salado 30. Walker had a 15-yard run to the three-yard line. He would finish the drive on a two-yard run and the score was tied at 14-14.
On the next possession by Salado, the drive took several minutes off the clock. The Eagles went 75 yards on 15 plays and ended with a Trey Sheppard eight-yard run. The see-saw battle continued and Salado took the 21-14 halftime lead.
Salado opened the lead to two touchdowns on the first possession of the second half. Torczynski ripped off a 56-yard run inside the five-yard line and two plays later, the Eagles scored and took a 28-14 lead with 10:10 remaining in the third quarter.
Fairfield only needed two plays to get the score back. On second down from the Fairfield 47, Rushin tossed into the right flat for Kolbe Branch, he dodged a couple of tacklers and then up the right hashmark for the 53-yard touchdown. Tyler Haynes added the extra point to cut the Salado lead to 28-21.
Salado would score on their next possession and restore the two-touchdown lead. The Eagles used the running game to go from their own 33 to the Fairfield 24. Haire dropped to pass and hit Ryan Kyburz for the 24-yard score and a 35-21 lead.
Fairfield would score on the fourth consecutive possession and cut into the lead again. Kolby Adams caught a 39-yard pass into Salado territory and later Hudson added his second touchdown on a one yard run to cut the lead to 35-28.
The teams went into the fourth quarter and a Fairfield drive stalled and terrific punt was downed at the Salado ten-yard line. The Eagles went to work to try and run out the clock and send Fairfield home. Twelve plays later, a Haire pass went incomplete and Fairfield took over their own 31-yard line.
Rushin used his passing game and completed four of six passes on the drive and the Eagles tied the score with 2:28 remaining in regulation. On first down at the 25, Rushin found Adams wide open heading into the end zone and the score was tied at 35-35.
Salado had one more drive before the end of the game. The three running backs picked up a couple of first downs and crossed midfield with about a minute to go. Kyburz caught a pass down to the 16-yard line, a pass that was covered perfectly by the Fairfield secondary. On the next play from scrimmage, the ball came loose on a hit by Johnn Owens and Trevan McWilliams covered it and ended the drive and the game would head to overtime.
In the Fairfield half of the overtime, Salado was called for pass interference and set the ball up at the ten-yard line. On third and goal, Rushin dropped back to pass and looked into good coverage. He was uncovered so he scrambled into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown at 42-35.
Salado had a chance to tie in overtime and took seven plays to reach the Fairfield eight-yard line. On third and five, Ulises Ramirez Rangel put a perfect hit on Torczynski and the ball flew out toward the Salado sideline. Just before in rolled out of bounds Kolbe Branch reached out and recovered it to preserve the win.
The Fairfield Eagles take the early lead in District 9 -4A DII. They are joined by the Conally Cadets and Mexia Blackcats that picked up Friday night wins. Fairfield will return home to take on Robinson on Friday night.
(Photos by Melissa Lee)
