East Mustangs Edge No. 7 Fairley
Excerpts from article by Devin Misko. Click here to read the whole article.
Special to The Commercial Appeal
Saturday, September 6, 2008
It was fitting that the game between East and Fairley at the Fairgrounds came down to the final minutes.
After all, the first half featured two touchdowns scored within the first minute of play, a blocked punt to set up a touchdown for East, a 20-play Fairley touchdown drive, and a halftime lead of 16 for East, which only needed 11 plays to score on its first three possessions.
Still, the Bulldogs (1-2) rallied to cut the lead to 30-28 on an 11-play drive that ended when quarterback Devin Stark hit receiver Martavius Neloms from 6 yards out. Fairley lined up for the two-point conversion, a run to the right for back Justin Elliott, but the Mustang defense broke through the line to stuff the play in the backfield.
It took Fairley just 21 seconds to get on the scoreboard to open the Region 8-4A contest. Derrick Murrell caught the East kickoff at the Bulldog 15-yard line, stepped left and accelerated through a crease, down the left sideline to the end zone. The extra point was good, and Fairley led 7-0.
On its next possession, Fairley used 20 plays to go 73 yards, scoring on a 12-yard screen from Stark to Artavious Gregory in the right flat. The extra point was good, bringing the score to 14-14.
Starting on their own 17, the Mustangs used a 42-yard run from back Jamison Knox to propel a 13-play drive that ended as time expired when Parker scrambled to his right, eluded three Bulldog defenders and spun back to his left, crossing the entire field and scoring from 7 yards out. The conversion gave East a 30-14 lead at half.
After stopping East on fourth down on the Fairley 33-yard line, the Bulldogs scored on a 10-play drive that ended with a toss to Murrell from 15 yards out with 1:39 left in the quarter.
Following an East punt with 4:34 left in the game, Fairley used 11 plays to get to the East 6-yard line, scoring with 1:11 to play.
“Life is about chances,” Fairley coach Rahnmann Slocum said. “We had chances to make things happened, and we didn’t take advantage.”