By: Nick Hall
The Fyffe Red Devils defeated the Luverne Tigers 21-19 Friday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium to claim the Red Devils’ third AHSAA Super 7 Class 2A State Football Championship since 2014. Senior running back, Payton Anderson, racked up 177 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries on his way to earning Class 2A Championship Game MVP honors. However, defense wins championships and that was never truer than in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Friday. After playing second fiddle to the prolific Red Devil offense all year long, the Fyffe Defense stood tall, turning back a strong Luverne offense early by forcing two field goals in the red zone.
The Red Devils jumped out front with 8:56 remaining in the first half on a 7-yard run by Anderson to cap a 15-play, 99-yard drive. Brody Dalton’s PAT gave the Red Devils a 7-0 lead. Luverne then went 57 yards in 12 plays to cut the lead to 7-3 when Chase White nailed a 31-yard field goal. Four minutes later, Luverne appeared to take the lead on a 17-yard pass play that was ruled a touchdown. The scoring play, which was automatically reviewed, was also challenged by Fyffe and upon review, was ruled an incomplete pass and Luverne had to settle for another field goal by White—this time from 28 yards. This is the first year the DVSport Instant Replay Protocol has been used in state championship games. The reversal was only the third successful challenge in the Super 7 state finals and the first in AHSAA history to erase a touchdown in a state championship game.
Fyffe took a 7-6 lead to the locker room at halftime and stretched it to 14-6 when Anderson raced 33 yards to the end zone to cap an eight-play, 77-yard drive late in the third quarter. However, the Tigers answered quickly with a 10-play, 73-yard drive of their own to shrink the Red Devils’ lead back to 14-12 after the two-point conversion attempt failed. Payton Stoner put Fyffe back up 21-12 when he reeled in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Zach Pyron with 4:18 left in the ballgame. Once again, the Tigers answered with a touchdown on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Dionte Brantley to come back within two with 2:34 left to play. Luverne got the ball back one more time with 1:25 left on the clock, but it wasn’t enough. Luverne mounted their last-chance drive from their own 13-yard line and ended when Brantley’s pass to Edward Thomas fell short of the end zone at the Fyffe 28 with no time remaining.
The Red Devils accumulated 14 first downs, 192 yards rushing and 72 yards passing for 264 yards. The Red Devils held the ball for 20:20 and ran 44 plays. Contrast that with Luverne’s 26 first downs, 202 yards rushing and 237 passing for 439 yards of total offense. Add to that the fact that the Tigers held the ball for 27:20 and ran 81 plays and you begin to understand how crucial the Red Devils’ red zone defense was in securing the win.
Pyron finished 3-of-4 passing for Fyffe for 72 yards. Stoner had two catches for 43 yards. Tyler Kinard and Kyle Dukes led the Fyffe defense. Kinard finished with 10 tackles and Dukes had nine.
“I’m a blessed man and this is a blessed team,” said head coach Paul Benefield. “Our kids fought through a lot of adversity to get to this point. Most people don’t know that due to multiple injuries, we started five sophomores and two freshman the last three games, and they rose to the occasion. I’m as proud of this team as any I’ve ever coached. The last few years have just been beyond my wildest dreams.”