Fairley Wins First Playoff Game over Brighton, 30-24
The Bulldogs won their first playoff game 30-24 Friday night over Brighton. They moved to 9-2 for the season and will play at Munford next Friday at 7 p.m. for their next playoff game.
Rod Garret led the way in the second half with 11 rushes for 156 yards, including a 50-yard run to recapture momentum for Fairley after Brighton had gotten back into the game.
From the Commercial Appeal: Bulldogs advance with 2nd-half flurry
Fairley 30, Brighton 24
By Bryan Brasher
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November 4, 2006
Fairley quarterback Jemarcus Robinson doesn’t care how the points come.With the postseason in full swing, he just wants them to keep coming so his team can keep advancing through the Class 4A state playoffs.
Robinson struggled to find a rhythm through the air Friday night, completing just 1-of-10 pass attempts. But he scored three rushing touchdowns — all on quarterback sneaks — to lead his team to a first-round playoff win, 30-24, over Brighton at J.P. Freeman Stadium.
The Bulldogs (9-2) will play a second-round game against Munford next week, while the Cardinals ended their season at 5-6.
“Just as long as we come out with a win, I don’t care about the rest,” said Robinson, who scored on runs of 3, 4 and 4 yards. “I don’t care how I score — or even if I score — as long as we get to play again next week.”
Neither offense had much success in the first half with Fairley gaining just 110 yards — all on the ground — and Brighton gaining just 92.
The Bulldogs led 8-6 at halftime, thanks to Robinson’s first touchdown run — a 3-yarder on the first play of the second quarter. Robinson also completed a two-point conversion pass to Robert Jackson.
Brighton answered with a short touchdown drive, following a muffed punt by the Bulldogs late in the second quarter. Quarterback Joe Glass capped the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Catarurius Taylor, but the two-point conversion try failed.
The two teams traded touchdowns early in the third quarter, and Brighton kicker Issac Stroope boomed a 37-yard field goal to tie the score at 16-16. That set the stage for an eventful fourth quarter that saw Robinson burn the Cardinals twice more with his legs.
A 50-yard run by Fairley’s Rogeris Garrett set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Robinson early in the fourth quarter. Robinson also ran for the two-point conversion to put his team up 24-16, but the Cardinals answered once again.
An eight-play, 67-yard drive that was aided by a facemask penalty on Fairley was capped when Glass threw his second touchdown pass — a 25-yarder to Terrell Payne. Taylor ran 3 yards for the two-point conversion, and the game was tied again at 24-24.
Fairley took over with 4:24 remaining and drove 80 yards in 14 plays to take the lead for the final time.
“We were just having to take what they gave us,” said Fairley coach Rahnmann Slocum. “They were a little soft in the middle, so we did our best to take advantage of that.”
Slocum was pleased with the effort, though he knows his team must improve before a tough second-round match-up with Munford.
“We know the game shouldn’t have really been this close,” he said. “After losing the first round of the playoffs last year, we needed a reason to believe we can win in the postseason.”