By Marla Jones, Sports Editor • marla@southerntorch.com (Photo by Cheryl Boydston)
FYYFE, Ala. — The Fyffe Red Devils defeated the Oakman Wildcats, 69-21 in the first round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) State playoffs.
The Red Devils found themselves in unfamiliar territory as they trailed 6-0 when the Wildcats put the first points on the board with 10:11 remaining in the first quarter. With 9:51 remaining in the first, Ike Rowell took it 61 yards for the touchdown. The point-after attempt failed, tying the game 6-6. Oakman scored with 6:03 remaining in the first, and went for two, making the score 14-6 at the end of one.
With 11:56 remaining in the second, Rowell sailed over the top of several defenders to score. The two-point conversion by Justin Stiefel was good to tie the game 14-14. With 9:01 in the second, Hunter Gillilan took it 47 yards for the touchdown. The point-after attempt failed but gave Fyffe the 20-14 lead. With 4:28 remaining in the second quarter, Rowell brought it in from 9-yards out to score. Rowell also brought in the two-point conversion to give Fyffe the 28-14 advantage. With 1:56 remaining in the first half, Rowell struck again with a 48-yard stampede into the endzone. Rowell connected with Gillian for the extra two points. Oakman snuck in a touchdown, making the score Fyffe 42, Oakman 21 going into the half.
With 8:41 in the third, Rowell scored on a 6-yard run. The point-after attempt gave the Red Devils the 49-21 lead. Rowell scored for Fyffe with 5:38 remaining in the third, to give the Red Devils a 55-21 advantage. Brodie Hicks bulldozed his way down the field for 25 yards to pad the Fyffe lead to 62-21.
Fyffe sealed the nails on the coffin for Oakman with a 6-yard dash into the endzone by Hunter Machen to make the final score, 69-21.
“I thought we started the game like we hadn’t played in three weeks,” stated Fyffe Head Coach Paul Benefield. “We shook out the cobwebs and played good. It was also good to get Ike back on the field again.”
Fyffe will host the Walter Welborn Panthers for the second round of the AHSAA State Playoffs on Friday.
