The Fairfield Eagles battled a top ten team and came up on the wrong side of a 55-0 to the Malakoff Tigers. The loss puts the Eagles at 1-1 in district play with a huge matchup on Monday night in Groesbeck.
#22 Braiden Barrett wraps up a tiger.
The Eagle offense performed well even when outmatched by the heavy favorite. They were forced to punt on the first possession and the Tigers took over at the Fairfield 39. Senior quarterback Darion Peace ran for a first down following a pass interference in the end zone. He would throw a touchdown pass to Nathan Jones with 8:17 remaining in the first quarter.
Dylon Rushin #26 keeps a tight grip on the ball as he rumbles with Malakoff
Fairfield put together an eight-play drive and took almost six minutes off the clock before they had to punt. Keevie Rose and Duce Hart ran the ball deep into Fairfield territory and Peace finished off the drive with his second touchdown pass on the evening, this on a 17-yard strike to Brandon Nations. The extra point put the score at 14-0 with one-minute remaining.
Senior cheerleader Jenny Pina works to keep the fans going during the game.
The Fairfield defense forced a punt and a turnover and held the Malakoff Tigers off the scoreboard for the equivalent of one quarter. Fairfield ran 34 offensive plays in the first half, including a ten-play drive that took another six minutes off the clock.
Band Director Mr. Large beams at the conclusion of the Grand Band from Eagle Land performance.
Fairfield punted and Peace promptly found Riggin Smith for a 54-yard catch and run to the Eagle 30-yard line. Three plays later, Peace tossed to Hart for the 20-yard touchdown with just over a minute remaining in the half.
Malakoff had the game in hand but took complete control in the opening minutes of the second half. The Tigers needed five plays to go 19 yards, following a 70 kickoff return by Hart. Keevie Rose finished the drive with a 10-yard run to expand the lead to 27-0.
#4 Jaylyn Daniels blocks while QB Kaden Crawford scrambles for a loose snap.
Fairfield quarterback Kaden Crawford threw an interception and Malakoff needed one play to score. Smith caught his second touchdown pass of the game on a 27-yard touchdown to lead 34-0.
Malakoff put two more scores before the end of the third quarter. Hart had a 28-yard touchdown run and Rose had a highlight run of 73 yards to extend the lead to 48-0 with still three minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Tigers would add a late touchdown to close out the scoring and take the road win.
Fairfield will go back to the field quickly with a road game in Groesbeck. The homecoming game has been deemed a “no game” with Kemp and no one is sure how that will figure in the final standings so keep flipping the pages of the Freestone County Times and we will keep you posted.
(Photos by Shae Garcia)
