By: Nick Hall
The Fyffe Red Devils had their toughest test of the year Friday night, managing only 21 points for their lowest offensive performance this year. However, it proved enough as the Red Devils’ defense allowed the Ohatchee Indians just 13. Fyffe struck first when Ike Rowell took the opening kickoff all the way to the Indians’ 5-yard line. Facing third-and-goal from the three, Zach Pyron scored on a quarterback keeper to put the Red Devils out front 6-0 with just 1:26 ticked off the clock. The PAT was no good.
Ohatchee answered by putting together a 15-play scoring drive that covered 73 yards and saw five third down conversions, the last of which was a 2-yard scoring run by quarterback Grayson Alward. The PAT was good, and the Indians took a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter. For the rest of the half, both teams traded punts, but fortune smiled on the Red Devils with a minute left until the intermission. A mishandled snap caused an Indians fumble at their own 20-yard line and Fyffes’s Eli Benefield was there to grab it. On the next play, Pyron ran eight yards, which became a 13-yard gain after a defensive holding penalty. The Red Devils failed to get into the end zone after three tries, but coach Paul Benefield put his riverboat gambler hat on kept his field goal unit on the sideline. Benefield’s bet on his offense paid off big as Pyron connected on fourth-and-nine with Payton Stoner who was being well defended in the end zone. Fyffe went for two, but failed to convert so the first half ended 12-7 with the Red Devils’ in the lead.
Fyffe opened the second half by forcing Ohatchee into a three-and-out. The Red Devils then drove to the Indians’ 1-yard line on the back of Pyron who had several big runs. Rowell took over from there and punched it into the end zone to stretch Fyffe’s lead to 18-7 after the PAT was blocked. Ohatchee cut the lead late in the third quarter when Alward broke loose for a 76-yard touchdown run. The Indians went for two, but failed, leaving the score at 18-13 heading into the fourth. Rowell answered with a pick-six, but had it called back on a blocking penalty. However, it did set Brody Dalton up for a late field goal from the 23-yard line that capped the game at 21-13. Fyffe (13-0) will host the Aliceville Yellow Jackets (11-2) Friday night in the Class 2A semi-finals.
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