The Fairfield Eagles worked through the first half to build a 23-6 lead and shut out the Teague Lions in the second half to take the opening game of District 9-3A Division I play Friday night in Teague.
The Eagles remain unbeaten on the season and in the top ten.
Fairfield took the first possession of the game and took advantage of Lion defensive miscues to put the first points on the board. The Eagles drew the Lion defensive line offsides on a third down to allow Jason Brackens to run for the first down on third and short. The Lions were called for pass interference and set the Eagles at the Lion 35. The Eagles turned to Brackens again and he ripped a run up the middle for the 35-yard touchdown run. The extra point by Kyser Gregory was good and the Eagles led 7-0.
The Lions were forced to punt, and the Eagles went back to work on offense. They took ten plays to work from their 22-yard line to the Lion 3. Quarterback Kohl Collins hit Finn Smith for 22 yards and Kavion Hicks for ten more and Connor Colvert for 32 to put the ball in scoring position. The Lion defense pushed the Eagles back on a couple of snaps and the Lions would hold off the Eagles on a goal line stand and take over at the four-yard line.
The Lions put their offense on the field and committed a false start and moved back to the two-yard line. Two plays later, Ny’Land Coaster took the handoff, and Brayden Thornburg wrapped him up behind the line of scrimmage and the Eagles earned the two-point safety and extended the lead to 9-0.
Fairfield took the free kick following the safety and used it to add to their lead. They moved 51 yards in ten plays and moved into position to score. The key play of the drive was a 22-yard pass from Collins to Hicks to move the chains on fourth down. Two plays later, Collins found Connor Colvert downfield for the 14-yard score and Gregory’s extra point put the score at 16-0.
The Teague defense forced a turnover on downs midway through the second quarter and took over at their 21. Coaster carried for a first-down and converted a third-down during the drive. Garrett Winkler hit Colton Smith with a 34-yard pass down to the 12-yard line. Jaden Cole carried twice, the second for a seven-yard score and cut the lead to 16-6 on the missed conversion.
The Eagles would be able to put final points on the board in the first half. Collins hit Hicks for a 19-yard gain and a first down and he caught another that covered 27 yards inside the Teague 25. Collins then ran the ball himself and through the Lion defense to a 22-yard touchdown and the lead grew to 23-6 at the half.
The teams exchanged possessions to begin the second half, but the Eagles would add to the lead on a quick three play drive. Kyden Rodriguez broke loose on a 41-yard touchdown to add to the big halftime lead. Fairfield added the point after and led 30-6.
Kalil Appel had a huge sack in the fourth quarter to end a Lion drive and Fairfield would convert that turnover on downs into points. Finn Smith caught the touchdown pass from Collins and Colvert added another late in the game to close out the scoring and the Fairfield Eagles 44-6 win.
Collins completed 25 of 31 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was Hicks, hauling in 12 receptions for a whopping 173 yards and a touchdown.
Diboll and Palestine Westwood join the Eagles on top of the District 9-3A Division I standings.
All three posted dominating wins and inch closer to the playoffs. Teague, Crockett, and Huntington will enter the second week of the district season searching for their initial win in district play.
Teague will take to the road for the next contest when they travel to Crockett to take on the Bulldogs. Both are 0-1 and a loss by either team would be damaging to playoff hopes. The Fairfield Eagles will host the Huntington Red Devils and will be heavily favored to win and put themselves in a collision course with fellow state ranked opponent Westwood when they meet on October 31.
