Fyffe Scores Late To Win State
By Monk Blevins
The Fyffe Red Devils scored with 1:03 left to claim the Class 3A State Championship 21-16. This championship is Fyffe’s third straight state championship, but the first one in Class 3A. Fyffe won the Class 2A Championships in 2018 and 2019. The Red Devils claimed their third consecutive 15-0 season.
Montgomery Catholic returned the opening kickoff to the Red Devil 25-yard line. Justin Stiefel made a touchdown-saving tackle on the return. Ike Rowell intercepted the Montgomery Catholic pass in the end-zone, but a pass interference call gave the Knights new life. The Red Devil defense tightened up and held Montgomery Catholic to a field goal as the Knights grabbed a 3-0 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the first quarter. After trading punts, Montgomery Catholic’s Caleb McCreary got things going through the air. He found Myles Butler in the end-zone for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Knights a 9-0 advantage after the missed PAT with just over 3 minutes to play in the first quarter. Montgomery Catholic got the ball back, and McCreary found Butler, who raced 56 yards for the score as the Knights took a 16-0 lead after the PAT.
After not making a first down until the second quarter, Ike Rowell got things going for Fyffe as they moved the ball down the field, and Rowell capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 16-6 after the missed 2-point conversion with just over two minutes to play in the half. Montgomery Catholic moved the ball down the field, setting up a field goal try with just a few seconds left in the half. Rowell blocked the kick, picked it up, and ran it back 78 yards for an apparent touchdown. After a long delay by the officials, it was determined that the play clock had expired before the kick, and the score was nullified. Montgomery Catholic got another opportunity to add points to the board, but this time chose to go for a touchdown. McCreary tossed a pass to the back of the end-zone, but it fell incomplete as the half ended with the Knights leading the Red Devils 16-6.
In the third quarter, both defenses held stern until midway through the quarter when Fyffe’s Brody Dalton sacked McCreary on a third-down forcing the fourth down punt. The punt was snapped over the punter’s head as he ran it down and was able to kick it away without it being blocked. The Fyffe offense took over and moved the ball down the field. Rowell picked up a big first down on a fourth and one as he ran for 6 yards to keep the drive alive. On the next play, Rowell found a wide-open Stiefel for 36 yards. The offense moved the ball down to the 3-yard line, and Rowell finished it off with a 3-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 16-13 at the start of the fourth quarter. The Fyffe defense bent but did not break as Montgomery Catholic failed to find the end-zone. With just over three minutes to play, the Fyffe defense stopped the Knights’ offense and forced them to punt deep in their own territory. The Knights got the punt off, but the officials stopped the play and reviewed the punt. They determined that the punter stepped out of bounds in the end-zone, giving Fyffe the safety and cutting the lead to 16-15 with three minutes to play. The safety also gave the ball back to Fyffe as the Knights had to kickoff to the Red Devils. After the kick, Rowell found Brody Dalton for a 29-yard pass to move the ball inside the 5-yard line. Rowell scored two plays later as the offensive line opened a hole, and Rowell walked in for the winning touchdown with just over one minute to play in the game, giving Fyffe the lead 21-16 after the missed 2-point try. The defense was able to stop the Knights as the clock ran out, and the Fyffe Red Devils claimed their third straight AHSAA State Championship.
Ike Rowell captured the Class 3A MVP award with 140-yards rushing and three touchdowns. He completed seven passes for 155-yards and had 104-yards in kick returns for the Red Devils. Fyffe managed 316 total yards on the day, with Rowell accounting for 295 of those yards.
Fyffe Scores Late To Win State