The Fairfield Eagles led 21-6 at the half and made it hold up for a 28-14 in Kemp. The win over the Yellowjackets evens the district record for the Eagles at 1-1.
The Eagle offense have run with a banged-up group of running backs on the season and had to go deeper in the offense and the reserves delivered with huge rushing numbers on the night. Jaylyn Daniels took the lead role in the first half and had a huge night with several runs of over 30 yards. Daryan Harris had a productive night as a ball carrier and he was joined with Evan Chavers and Hayden Braswell to keep the Eagle ground game going.
Fairfield got on the scoreboard first with a 55-yard drive following a Kemp punt. Daniels had a short run and then ripped a 19-yard run across midfield to the Kemp 34. After an incomplete pass, Barrett took the handoff and raced up the middle for the 34-yard touchdown run and the early lead. Jonathon Garcia added the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
The Eagles took advantage of good field position at their 48-yard line and added to the lead. Daniels had an 18-yard run to the Kemp 34-yard line. He would finish the drive with a sweep to the left side and up the sideline. He broke a couple of tackles near the goal line and his touchdown would give the Eagles a 14-0 lead after the extra point by Garcia.
The Eagle defense got a stop in Kemp territory when Camron Daniels jumped on a loose ball in the early moments of the second quarter.
Harris and Samuel Marstars teamed up on a sack and Braswell had a couple of big hits that made some drive stall. Karson Shipley pressured Kemp quarterback Deacon Thompson and his pass wobbled and Rowdy Hand picked it off at the Kemp 42. The Eagles made quick work of the field position. Daniels had a 14-yard run inside the Kemp 30-yard line. Barrett had a run near the goal line then, Harris blew through a big opening and scored the four-yard touchdown and the 21-0 lead.
Just before the half, Kemp faced a fourth down and executed a perfect fake punt and Thompson ran for 69 yards and was tackled at the Fairfield one yard line. He would finish the drive on a quarterback keeper and cut the lead to 21-6. The extra point try was no good and the Eagles 21-6 at the half.
Kemp was able to draw to within a touchdown when Thompson found a wide-open Laramie Greathouse for a 41-yard touchdown pass and the two-point conversion was good and the Eagle lead was cut to 21-14.
Fairfield would add an insurance touchdown late in the game when Harris scored on an 11-yard touchdown run and the final score of 28-14.
The Fairfield Eagles will return home on Friday night and take on Freestone County rival Teague in a very important District 8-3A Division I contest. The Lions were shut out by the Malakoff Tigers 38-0 in Malakoff on Friday night.
(Photos by Ashlyn Garcia)
