The Fairfield Eagles had some questions to answer going into the 2019 season. They found a few answers in their season opening win in Rusk Friday night.
The Eagles needed some replacements from last year’s team at a few important positions, but Justin Abram stepped in and ran the 2019 version of the offense and they put up 47 points in the win.
Fairfield dominated the game on offense and Rusk was able to stay in the game with the great help of their return game with a kickoff and punt return for touchdowns in the second half.
The Eagles put the first points on the board with 8:31 remaining in the first quarter. Justin Abram bulled his way into the end zone on a one-yard run. Tyler Haynes added the extra point for the early 7-0 lead. Fairfield added a second touchdown before the end of the quarter, but it did not come without some discussion. Freshman running back Eli Martin crossed the goal line on a four-yard run and the ball came loose. It was ruled a fumble but a conference by the officials reversed the call and Martin was awarded his first touchdown on the season. Haynes added the point after for a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
The Fairfield defense held Rusk with another short possession and the offense extended the lead. Jar-Mychael Hudson capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run and the point after made the Eagle lead 21-0.
Rusk broke through on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter. Jaden Rushing scored on a two-yard run to cut into the lead, but the two-point conversion failed, and the score was 21-6. The Rusk Eagles would add points generated by the special teams on a blocked punt and the score came on a Rushing nine-yard run for the score. Quarterback Jaylon Hall connected with Sean Rogers for the conversion and cut the lead to 21-14.
Fairfield kicked off to open the second half and the Rusk return team hit the big play. Joseph McGowan fielded the kick inside the ten-yard line, and he raced the length of the field for the touchdown and an opportunity to tie the score. The conversion to put Rusk in the lead was no good and Fairfield hung on to the 21-20 lead.
The Fairfield offense struck back in a quick way when Hudson scored on a 42-yard run with 10:06 remaining in the third quarter. Haynes extended the lead to 28-20 with the extra point. The freshman tailback got into the act again with two touchdowns in the second half. The first touchdown was on a 29-yard run and a 53-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Both point after touchdowns were no good but Fairfield had put 20 points between them and Rusk at 40-20.
Rusk did cut into the lead with a touchdown pass from Landon Gates to Rogers for a 30-yard score. Gates added the conversion run and the Fairfield lead was 40-28 with 8:45 remaining in the game.
The Fairfield Eagles offense returned to get the score back on an Abram one-yard run and a 47-28 lead midway through the final quarter.
Rusk added the final score of the night with their special teams’ unit with a 47-yard punt return by Brennen Lucien with just over a minute remaining in the game.
The Fairfield Eagles will take to the road one more time before the home opener with a game against the Brownsboro Bears on Friday night.
