The Fairfield Eagles added two late touchdowns and pulled away from the Robinson Rockets and held the lead in District 9-4A DII.
Fairfield and Waco Conally each posted wins on Friday night and will face off in Waco this week for the sole lead in the district.
Mexia and Salado trail by one game and Robinson and Lorena are both winless. Each pair of matching records play each other and the district should be taking shape.
Both defenses took control in the first few minutes of the first quarter. With 4:33 remaining Junior quarterback Chad Rushin threw behind his receiver Kolbe Branch.
Branch reached back and caught the pass and stepped into the end zone for the touchdown. Tyler Haynes added the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, Robinson added the score that would tie the game. In for starter Kayne Follender, Mason Cooper threw two passes across the middle, the second one to Noah Richard for a 27-yard score. The point after tied the game with 3:23 remaining in the first quarter.
Fairfield took the ball at the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter. Rushin completed a short pass to Avery Archibald and then a long one on the crossing route and he sprinted to the one-yard line.
Junior running back Kadarius Walker took care of the rest with the one-yard run and the Eagles regained a 14-7 lead.
Robinson got the score back in just a few minutes and via the big play. Follender returned to the game when Cooper was injured. He dropped back for a screen pass, but the toss was tipped by an Eagle defender.
The deflection dropped into the hands of Robinson running back Malik Ford and he was behind the defense and raced for the 60-yard touchdown. The point after tied the score with 8:50 remaining in the first half.
Fairfield added a score on Jar-Mychael Hudson five yard run to take lead at the half.
The Eagle offense took control of the game in the third quarter. Rushin scrambled for a 22-yard score with 7:24 to go in the quarter to take a 28-14 lead.
After that score, the Rushin ran the read option to perfection with a beautiful pitch to Hudson and he ran untouched through the Rocket defense for the 51-yard touchdown and the lead grew to 35-14.
The Rockets did add a touchdown to try and keep the game close. Follender found Richard for the second time in the game on a 17-yard touchdown pass to cut into the lead.
On the first possession of the final quarter, Richard caught his third touchdown pass of the game, this one good for eight yards, and the Rockets were within a touchdown with 9:26 remaining in the game.
The Eagle offense went back to work and quickly put the lead back to two touchdowns. Branch again ran the crossing pattern and Rushin hit the pass for a 47-yard touchdown.
Branch caught the pass between two defenders and Haynes put the Eagles ahead by 14 with his sixth extra point of the night.
Robinson took the ball and moved toward scoring. They crossed midfield and promptly threw an interception.
Archibald took the ball from Jace Walker and the Eagle offense returned to the field to close out the game. Archibald finished the drive with a 23-yard run and the score was 49-28.
The Rockets return team took the kickoff to the Fairfield 16 but the offense was intercepted by Haynes to secure the win.
Fairfield takes to the road on Friday night when they take on the Conally Cadets for the district lead.
BRINGING DOWN THE ROBINSON ROCKET is Fairfield Eagle #10 Blake Posey. (At Top)
JOINING AVERY ARCHIBALD IN THE END ZONE to celebrate his touchdown with the traditional jump is Cody Ferguson. (Middle Photo)
A PAIR OF EAGLES PUT THE PRESSURE on the opposing quarterback, forcing an incomplete pass by Robinson. Great job by Fairfield’s #50 Jordan Gibson and #88 Sutton Bonner. (Bottom Photo)
(Photos by Melissa Lee)
