Fairfield Eagle running back JaShaughn Hatcher scored four touchdowns and the Eagles took the district runner up spot in District 8-4A with a 28-15 win over the Salado Eagles in the regular season finale at Eagle Field Friday night.
There were several scenarios that would set up playoff rankings and a couple of them had the Eagles down the list but the first priority for Fairfield was a win at home and the other scenarios would fade away, since the Eagles had the tiebreaker over Conally and Robinson.
Salado took the ball first and their full house backfield got in high gear and moved down the field quickly. The running of Wronk Brown and Hunter Turk put the ball in scoring position in just a couple of minutes. The drive ended with a quarterback keeper from two yards out by Hutter Haire. They kicked the extra point, but the Eagles were offsides, so the ball was moved to just outside the one. Salado put their offense back on the field and Turk ran in the conversion for an early 8-0 lead.
The Fairfield offense gave Salado a taste of their own medicine when they continued the no-huddle rhythm offense. They added their first touchdown in less than a minute. JaShaughn Hatcher broke away on a 38-yard run up the middle and his touchdown brought the Fairfield team closer. The run for two was no good and Salado maintained an 8-6 lead.
The Fairfield defense recovered a fumble at the Salado 44-yard line. The motion offense of Salado had the ball in several hands and it fell to the ground and Keshun Crenshaw pounced on it for the Salado turnover.
Fairfield made quick work of the great field position to take the lead. Hatcher pushed through the Salado defense for the four-yard touchdown run and the Eagles led 12-8. The Eagles try for two had a double reverse and Blake Posey scored the conversion run for the 14-8 lead with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter.
Fairfield and Salado traded turnovers on downs, but the Salado possession ended inside the Fairfield ten-yard line. The Eagle offense took several minutes off the clock and Hatcher added his third touchdown of the first half. His 16-yard run and missed conversion set the score at 20-8 as the teams went the locker room for the halftime break.
Fairfield took the ball in the second half and ran three minutes off the clock before they gave the ball to Salado. There were a couple of runs that almost broke big for Salado, but some defensive plays kept them out of the end zone. Brown was able to clear out and score on a 39-yard run to cut the lead to 20-15 after he made the point after.
It was the defense that stood tall in the later stages of the third quarter. The Salado defense stopped Hatcher at the Salado five-yard line with four minutes remaining in the third and Fairfield countered by stopping the Salado offense at the Fairfield 23 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
Fairfield got some insurance on Hatcher’s fourth touchdown of the night. The seven-yard run put the Eagles ahead by two touchdowns and Posey added the two-point run for the 28-15 lead.
The Fairfield defense had some big plays in the second half with Justin Abram and Jordan Gibson playing big roles in the Eagle defense in the win.
Hatcher finished the night with 290 yards rushing and the four touchdowns and the Eagles finished second in the district race.
During the halftime festivities, six members of the senior class, two band members, two cheerleaders and two varsity football players, recognized retiring high school principal Von Wade for his service to Fairfield Independent School District. He began his service in 1977 and to date, has not missed a single Friday night during his career, totaling 457 weeks of looking over Fairfield Eagle football.
Lorena wins the district and will face Brownsboro in the bi-district round of the playoffs that start this week. Conally and Robinson also qualified. Robinson faces Rusk and Bullard will take on the Conally Cadets.
Fairfield will face the Wills Point Tigers on Thursday night at Palestine High School at 7:30pm.
(Sports Photography by Melissa Lee)
