By Amy Thrash, Reporter • amy@southerntorch.com

BIRMINGHAM Ala. — The Fort Payne Wildcats fell to the Carver Birmingham Rams 28-7 on Friday night.

The Wildcats’ defense came out strong and forced a three-and-out. With 6:36 remaining in the first quarter, Jordan Bain connected with Carter Pinholster on a 30-yard pass. Alex McPherson’s PAT was good giving the Wildcats the 7-0 lead.

With 10:11 remaining in the second, Carver scored on a 28-yard pass. With 4:04 left in the half, the Rams scored their second touchdown of the night to give Carver Birmingham the 14-7 lead at the half.

At the end of the third, the Rams ran a 16-yard touchdown to make the score 21-7.

With 6:50 remaining in the game, the Rams raced down the field with a 80-yard touchdown run giving them the 28-7 victory over Fort Payne.

“We got [off] to a good start and got an early lead, but then never got anything going again,” said Head Coach Chris Elmore. “We played well on defense at times and forced 4 interceptions, but  we could never get a rhythm on offense. We will have to play much better in the first round of the playoffs to advance.”

Coach Elmore’s Offensive Player of the Week was Ben Perry and the Defensive Player of the Week was Nalen Dubose.

The Fort Payne Wildcats will host the Gardendale Rockets in the first round of the 6A playoffs tonight.