By Cinthia Rico FYFFE – The Red Devils overpowered the Eagles in the Class 2A semifinals with a 32-14 victory at Paul Benefield Stadium on Friday night.
Logan Anderson’s impressive performance, with 235 rushing yards and three touchdowns, set the pace for Fyffe, while Simon Hicks rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown in the semifinal matchup.
Their strong defense shut down the Pisgahs’ offense. The Red Devils (13-1) now move on to the Super 7 football AHSAA championship in Tuscaloosa on Friday against Reeltown (13-0) at 3 p.m.
Fyffe took an early lead after stopping Pisgah on their opening drive and scoring on their next possession.
Anderson capped the Red Devils’ opening drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Fyffe led 8-0 thanks to a 2-point conversion run by Blake Dobbins.
Both offenses fired up in the second frame, with Fyffe and Pisgah having one drive end on downs and another Red Devil drive ending with an interception by Legion McCrary, but the eight-point margin held throughout the first half.
Senior Jakob Kirby stopped Anderson on fourth-and-goal from the Pisgah 2-yard line in the third quarter.
Fyffe’s defense forced a three-and-out, but the Red Devils capitalized with a 17-yard touchdown run by Ryder Gipson and Anderson’s two-point conversion to increase their lead to 16-0.
The Eagles put together a drive that was highlighted by Gilbert’s 22-yard run, his 16-yard pass to McCrary, and McCrary’s 1-yard touchdown run on the next play, after Gilbert completed passes to Landon Watkins for 31, 7, and 8 yards, respectively.
Pisgah pulled within 16-8 with less than two minutes left in the game when Gilbert mobilized and found Jackson Smalley for the two-point conversion.
As the game neared its conclusion, Fyffe added three more points, two of which came from Anderson in response to Pisgah’s two touchdowns.
Around the 10:42 mark, Anderson scored from 15 yards out, and Hicks completed a successful two-point conversion to further their advantage.
Pisgah countered with a 1-yard touchdown run from Gilbert. With 7:25 remaining, the Eagles trailed 24-14 after failing to convert a two-point attempt.
Anderson’s 25-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion with less than five minutes left secured Fyffe the victory.
Of the win, Fyffe coach Paul Benefield said it all comes down to the hard work his players continuously put in.
“Nothing happens magically without hard work and a lot of sacrifices that our kids make and their parents make for our program,” he stated.
The win marked Fyffe’s eighth state title game in 10 years and also the 350th career win for coach Benefield.
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