Fyffe defeats B.B. Comer to claim sixth state title
Story By Cinthia Rico
Months of hard work paid off last week as the Fyffe Red Devils defeated B.B. Comer 40-28 to win the Class 2A State Championship at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare stadium.
The 2022 season 15-0 finish marked the sixth for the Red Devils in the last nine seasons. Fyffe Head Coach Paul Benefield ranks third in AHSAA state history with 336 career wins and has coached six state title teams in the past decade.
“I’m glad to see all the smiles on their faces because their hard work has paid off,” said Benefield. “This may be the most satisfying [championship] to me. These guys are superstars – it’s been a combination of work for years and years, and these guys didn’t quit.”
“We knew we had to run between the tackles,” he said. “That’s Brodie’s strong point. He sucked it up in that fourth quarter and made great runs.”
Brodie Hicks led Fyffe with 45 carries for 235 yards and five touchdowns and was named MVP. Hicks’ 2A final 5 touchdown performance broke Michael Lindsey of Elba, the former record of four TDs set in 2011 and tied by Justus McDaniel of Mars Hill Bible in 2020.
“It’s a great feeling. I didn’t even know I broke that record,” said Hicks. “I just have to give a lot of thanks to the linemen.”
Despite an early start from B.B. Comer’s Kamore Harris, who rushed 67 yards for a touchdown at the 11:22 mark, Fyffe took control of the game scoring three TDs in the last three minutes of the first quarter.
Ryder Gipson drove in a 1-yard touchdown a few plays later, and Brodie Hicks rushed for a 6-yard scoring run, his first of five, making it 12-8. With only 53 seconds left, Hicks added a 1-yard scoring run. Yahir Balcazar’s point after lifted the Red Devils to 19-8.
B.B. Comer’s Devin Harvey connected with Richard Weed on a 44-yard touchdown pass to kick off the second quarter.
Fyffe answered with a Hicks 1-yard scoring run and a Balcazar PAT making it 26-16 at the half.
The Red Devils took the second-half kickoff and drove 63 yards in 11 plays, including 10 runs and Hicks’s fourth touchdown of the night, furthering their lead 33-16.
B.B. Comer rallied in the final frame behind a Tristan Garrett 8-yard touchdown run and a Kamore Harris 3-yard scoring rush.
Hicks broke free for a 7-yard touchdown at the 3:57 mark of the fourth, and Balcazar booted a point after, closing out scoring for a 40-28 final.
Harris led B.B. Comer (12-3) with 180 yards and touchdown runs of 67 and 3 yards on 20 carries. Weed caught a 44-yard touchdown pass and added 14 tackles, while Tristan Garrett scored on an 8-yard run.
Fyffe finished with 335 total offensive yards and 277 rushing yards. Ryder Gipson had one touchdown and six tackles on defense, while Will Arnold led the Red Devils’ defense with nine tackles, and Balcazar finished with six kickoffs for 242 yards.
“The only reason I can do what I do is because of my line,” said Gipson. “I can do the right things because they’re in the right place. That’s the only way you can win a state championship.”