Griffins’ quarterback DeAndre Belton finds the gap in the Keenan defense.
The Griffin defense wraps up Keenan’s Peter Easaw.
Keenan found lots of running room against Fairfield Central at Bolden Stadium Friday.
The Griffins, on the other hand, found the end zone regularly.
The Raiders rushed for 329 yards, but Griffins’ quarterback DeAndre Belton hooked up with Kewaun Squirewell for two touchdowns and with Damien Bell for a third in a 42-18 victory over the Raiders.
Belton also rushed 10 times for 176 yards for Fairfield Central (6-2 overall, 2-1 Region III-2A). Even though Belton kept drives alive with his running, Fairfield Central head coach Demetrius Davis said Keenan (4-4, 1-2) had bottled up the Griffins’ rushing attack.
“They came out in an old-fashioned Chicago Bears defense (the 4-6), that covered everybody and it forced us to have single blocks,” Davis explained. “The only thing we could do was run some gap scheme stuff and throw the ball.”
Throw it they did. The Griffins completed just seven passes, but four were for scores: three Belton strikes and a touchdown pass from Bell to Squirewell.
Keenan had trouble covering Belton’s passing and rushing, but the Raiders’ offense gave the Griffins fits as well. Leading rusher Peter Easaw carried the ball 17 times for 180 yards and all three Raiders scores.
“They got after us and exposed us on the run,” said Davis. “But after the half our guys came out and bowed their backs.”
“We felt like we won the battle for physicality. We felt that way,” said Keenan head coach Mitch Moton. “We didn’t make plays when we had the opportunities. Our goal was to keep everything outside because we knew they had a quarterback who was capable of some tremendous plays.”
Fairfield Central took a 14-0 lead on a pair of Belton-to-Squirewell touchdown passes in the first quarter, from 38 and 21 yards.
Keenan ended the first with Hopkins’ 59-yard pass to Joshua McCord, which set the Raiders up at the Griffins 20-yard line. Easaw plowed his way into the end zone on the next play to start the second quarter.
Fairfield Central took a 21-6 lead with 5:44 left in the second quarter on Damien Bell’s 14-yard touchdown run.
Keenan cut that lead to 21-12 on its final possession of the first half, an eight-play, 57-yard drive capped with Easaw’s punishing 14-yard TD run.
Once the second half got under way, it was all Fairfield Central. Griffins’ defender Dustin Padgett recovered a Keenan fumble early in the third. On the Griffins’ first play, Belton pitched to Bell on the right side. Bell then hit Squirewell for a 26-yard touchdown completion at the 9:25 mark.
Keenan sustained a long drive that died out on the Griffins 29. Fairfield Central struck quickly again, with Belton finding Bell on a screen pass, and the running back darting 40 yards to the end zone at the 2:45 mark of the third.
Fairfield Central’s Raheim McDaniel blocked a punt early in the fourth, and the Griffins converted it to a 2-yard Larry G. Bell TD run with 11:19 left.
Easaw’s 96-yard touchdown run along the left sidelines came too little, too late.
“We were pleased that we were able to run the football,” Moton said. “We knew that we had a big play guy in Easaw, he’s just a special player. We’ll just take this experience and build on it.”
Fairfield Central 14-7-14-7 — 42
Keenan 0-12-0-6 – 18
First Quarter
F – Squirewell 38 pass from Belton. Kick failed. (8:10)
F – Squirewell 21 pass from Belton. Workman 2 pass from Belton. (1:10)
Second Quarter
K – Easaw 20 run. Kick failed. (11:49)
F – D. Bell 14 run. Walker kick. (5:44)
K – Easaw14 run. Run failed. (1:33)
Third Quarter
F – Squirewell 26 pass from D. Bell. Walker kick. (9:25)
F – D. Bell 40 pass from Belton. Walker kick. (2:45)
Fourth Quarter
F – L. Bell 2 run. Walker kick. (11:19)
K – Easaw 96 run. Run failed. (4:05)
FCHS KHS
First Downs 16 20
Rushes-Yards 25-266 42-329
Passing Yards 135 77
Att-Com-Int 13-7-1 8-2-2
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 11-115 7-77
Punts-Avg. 2-33.0 1-30.0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Fairfield Central: Belton 10-176, D. Bell 8-33, L. Bell 4-11. Keenan: Hyman 7-47, Gray 8-77, Hopkins 10-25, Easaw 17-180.
PASSING – Fairfield Central: Belton 12-6-1, D. Bell 1-1-0. Keenan: Hopkins 8-2-2.
RECEIVING – Fairfield Central: Squirewell 4-83, D. Bell 2-44, L. Bell 1-8. Keenan: Pearson 1-18, McCord 1-59.
