Fairfield Central stonewalls Newberry ground game, earns win
Friday night’s edition in the Newberry-Fairfield Central rivalry delivered everything expected: power running, and hard hitting.
At least until the fourth quarter, when a few fireworks went off.
The game with six points in the first three quarters saw a 21 in the fourth as the Griffins held off the Bulldogs 20-7 at Setzler Field on the campus of Newberry College.
“That’s the first time the ball really bounced our way this year,” Fairfield coach Demetrius Davis said. “We were able to make some plays on third down.
“I’ll be honest, I’m just happy we’re in the win column.”
His Fairfield Central team (3-2) nursed a 6-0 lead most of the game before opening it up on a defensive score, letting Newberry answer and finally hitting a 43-yard bomb to Ahquil Ross on a busted coverage to pull away.
TURNING POINT
Griffins defensive end Dorian Glenn knocked the ball from the hands of Newberry quarterback Tyriq Goodman, and Darryl Camack returned the fumble 15 yards to go up 12-0 with 9:03 left in the game.
KEY PERFORMERS
Ahquil Ross, WR, Fairfield Central: On a day where big plays were hard to come by, he had four catches for 67 yards.
Tony Ruff, RB, Fairfield Central: The Griffins had a balanced day running, but he scored the first touchdown of the game and had 50 yards, including his team’s longest run of the day.
KEY NUMBERS
2: Runs for Newberry tailback Amir Abrams that went more than 6 yards. He had 21 carries and averaged 6.6 coming in.
2.4: yards per carry on 71 attempts for both teams, on a night where both squads loaded up to stop the run.
3: First downs after halftime for Fairfield-Central as it held onto a lead.
THEY SAID IT
“They beat us up front tonight, especially on offense. We couldn’t run our offense. We had to get out of our offense. ... We just left the defense out there too long.” – Phil Strickland, Newberry coach
“I just want to thank my teammate for getting the ball out. All the praise goes to my teammates” – Darryl Camack on his fumble return score
HOW THEY SCORED
2nd Quarter
FC – Ruff 4 run (kick failed), 9:30
4th Quarter
FC – Camack 15 fumble return (pass failed), 9:03
N – Abrams 1 run (Day kick), 6:50
FC – Ross 43 pass from McManus (Ross pass from McManus) 5:19
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: FC: Ruff 10-50, Jerrell Suber-O’Neal 13-25, McManus 9-5, Edmonds 2-6, Ross 1-1, TEAM 2-(-5). Totals: 37-82. N: Abrams 21-53, Goodman 10-42, Mason 1-6, TEAM 2-(-10). Totals: 34-91.
Passing: FC: McManus 11-19-0-117. N: Goodman 13-33-1-176.
Receiving: FC: Ross 4-67, Jackson 3-15, Goins 3-15, Woodard 1-20. N: Wadsworth6-75, Gillam 3-50, Abrams 2-21, Love 1-28, Douglas 1-9.
This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 11:34 PM.