The Fairfield Eagles came off the open week and gave the second ranked Conally Cadets a good run only to come up a bit short on the road 40-35 Friday night in Waco.
Kavion Gaither rolled up 246 yards and four touchdowns and Jay’Veon Sunday added 163 yards on 24 carries in the win. Eagle quarterback Justin Abram kept pace with 209 yards on 33 carries and three touchdowns in a losing effort.
The Eagles heated things up on the cold October night on the first possession. Abram broke to his left on the keeper and then straight up field for the 55 yard run to open the scoring. Tyler Hanes added the extra point, which were challenging all night with the wind, and the Eagles led 7-0.
The teams traded punts and Conally put point on the board near the end of the first quarter. Gaither scored on a one yard run capping a seven play drive. All seven plays came on the running game and the point after was no good and the Eagles held onto a 7-6 lead.
Fairfield began its next drive at midfield and finished the first quarter and went well into the second. On the tenth play of the drive, Jar-Mychael Hudson scored on a five yard run and the Eagles extended the lead to 14-6.
Conally continued the see-saw battle with a touchdown on the following possession. It was also ten plays, but the Cadets had to go 66 yards. The plays were all on the ground and Gaither finished it with a three yard run. The try for two would have tied the game but Sunday was stopped short and the Eagles preserved a 14-12 lead.
Fairfield stalled on the next possession at Cadet 30 yard line and the Abrams pass was incomplete so Conally took over. Gaither dropped to pass and hit Korie Black wide open on the post route and the catch and covered 63 yards and the Cadets took a 19-14 lead. Sunday added a late touchdown in the half on an eight yard run and the Cadets led 26-14 at the half.
Conally took the ball and the drive was all on the ground and five of the six plays were Gaither runs, the final one a highlight reel 38 yard score for the largest lead of the contest 33-14.
The Eagles needed points and took off on their best drive of the night. The 15 play, 55 yard drive ended with Hudson scoring his second touchdown on the night on a three yard run. The Eagles had to convert three times on fourth down to keep the drive alive and cut the lead to 33-21.
Conally mishandled the kickoff and were tackled at the six yard line and in three plays had to punt. A fumble was almost recovered by the Eagle defense but Sunday fought for it at the bottom of the pile. The short kick and a penalty put the Eagle offense on the field at the Cadet 14 yard line. On fourth down, Abrams scored on a five yard run and cut the lead to 33-28 late in the third quarter.
The Cadets need to take some time off the clock and add to the lead and they got just what they needed. Beginning at the 27 yard line, Conally marched down the field taking precious minutes off the clock. On the twelvth play of the drive, Gaither scored on a ten yard run midway through the quarter and extend the lead to 40-28.
Fairfield continued to apply pressure and cut into the lead. The Eagles covered 75 yards in 12 plays and Abram punched in the score to cut the lead to 40-35 with minimal time remaining.
The Eagles were penalized on the kickoff and the Cadets ran out the remaining time and kept a perfect record on the season.
Waco Conally is 5-0 in the district season with one game left at home against Robinson in the final week of the regular season. Mexia and Salado each had wins over Robinson and Madisonville, respectively and are tied for second and the will meet in Mexia on Friday night. Fairfield and Robinson are 2-2 and tied for fourth and will meet each other in Fairfield this Friday night.
(Photos by Shae Garcia)
