Fairfield Central’s Bryan Young (25) sets his sights on Lee Central quarterback Don Halley (1). (Photo/DeAnna Robinson)
BISHOPVILLE –The Fairfield Central Griffins, outclassing Lee Central in every aspect of the game, trampled the Stallions Friday night, rolling their second road shutout of the season, 41-0.
The Griffins breached the goal line nearly every time they touched the ball in the first half of the rout, with only their final possession before the break thwarted when a Stanley McManus pass bounced out of the hands of Chandon Davis and into the arms of Lee Central’s Fonseco Prince at the Stallion 25. But by then, the Griffins had amassed a 34-0 lead and enough confidence and cushion to spread the playing time around to the freshmen and sophomores in the second half.
“(Lee Central) is young and I knew coming in that we would probably be a little overmatched for these guys,” Griffin head coach Demetrius Davis said. “The main thing, you don’t want to come in and get anybody hurt in these type situations. (Lee Central) played as hard as they could play, but they just didn’t have the numbers.”
The Stallions opened the game at their own 35, and with a punishing run on the first snap by Marquis King to the Fairfield 40, Lee Central appeared ready to set the tone of the game. But the Griffin defense quickly snuffed out the brief threat, forcing a punt on fourth-and-13.
Don Halley’s punt sailed high and deep, back to the Fairfield 18 where it was fielded by Josh Bell. The Griffin junior tucked the ball, flashed through the coverage and rocketed down the home sideline for an 82-yard return for 6 with 9:26 left in the first quarter. The point-after kick banged off the goal post, but for all intents and purposes, the game was essentially decided.
The defense again smothered the Stallions on their ensuing possession, and with the Lee Central punt rolling to a stop at midfield, the Griffins lined up at the 50. Stanley McManus took the snap, turned and tucked the ball into the belly of Joseph Young who blasted through the line, past the linebackers and the gaping secondary and vanished into the end zone. Isias Leon’s PAT kick was true, putting the Griffins up 13-0 with 6:41 left in the opening frame.
Following another Stallion three-and-out, the Griffin offense went to work on an actual drive, taking over at their 43 and picking apart the Lee Central secondary to the Stallion 28. From there, the running game took over, with Young hammering away at the Stallion line. Young capped the drive with a 4-yard scoring run, and Leon’s kick gave Fairfield a 20-0 lead with 37 ticks left on the first-quarter clock.
Young added another score with 8:10 to go in the second, polishing off a five-play, 39-yard drive from 2-yards out. Leon’s punctuation mark put the Griffins up 27-0.
Young was good for 117 unofficial yards on a dozen carries, all in the first half.
McManus gave the scoreboard its final tilt of the half with 4:47 on the clock, hitting fellow sophomore Chandon Davis with a 9-yard TD pass. The toss was the finishing touch to a five-play, 45-yard drive that took just over 2 minutes off the clock and gave the Griffins a 34-0 advantage.
“Our first three games were tough,” Davis said, “and to be able to have a game like this, I think was something we kind of needed for a confidence builder, more than anything else.”
The Griffins’ farm system worked nearly the entire second half and got a taste of the end zone themselves early in the third when sophomore Chad Sampson lumbered into the end zone from 15 yards out with 7:43 still on the clock. The drive began on the Fairfield 46 after the Griffins successfully fielded the Stallions’ on-side kick to open the second half. JV quarterback Antonio Jackson took the helm and sophomore running back Jerrell Suber-O’Neal got the lion’s share of the carries as the Griffins steadily pushed the Stallions back inside their own 20. Leon’s extra point was good for the 41-0 final.
The Griffins (3-1) host Eau Claire (0-4) next week. The Shamrocks fell 39-6 to Lake Marion Thursday.
FC: 20-14-7-0 – 41
LC: 0-0-0-0 – 0
Scoring
First Quarter
FC – Josh Bell 86 punt return. Kick failed. (9:26)
FC – Joseph Young 50 run. Isias Leon kick. (6:41)
FC – J. Young 4 run. I. Leon kick. (0:37)
Second Quarter
FC – J. Young 2 run. I. Leon kick. (8:10)
FC – Chandon Davis 9 pass from Stanley McManus. I. Leon kick. (4:47)
Third Quarter
FC – Chad Sampson 15 run. I. Leon kick. (7:43)
Team Stats
FC LC
First Downs 14 4
Rushes/Yards 30-205 20-43
Passing Yards 98 19
C-A-I 7-11-1 4-15-1
Fumbles/Lost 2-1 1-0
Penalties/Yards 4-40 6-50
Individual Stats
RUSHING: FC – Joseph Young 12-117, Stanley McManus 1-8, Carl Jackson 1-2, Montego Johnson 1-5, Bryan Young 2-3, Jarrell Suber-O’Neal 9-44, Chad Sampson 1-15, Byron Sampson 1-12, Antonio Jackson 2-(-1). LC – Don Halley 7-(-5), Marquis King 5-36, Lathan Israel 2-0, Shileake Albert 3-8, Mitch Santimaw 1-4, Danarius McMillan 1-(-1), Marquis Toney 1-1.
RECEIVING: FC – Chandon Davis 3-34, Roderick Sparks 2-33, Tykedrist Gibson 1-23, Montego Johnson 1-10. LC – Takeen Albert 4-19.
PASSING: FC – Stanley McManus 7-10, 98 yards, INT, TD; Antonio Jackson 0-1. LC – Don Halley 4-15, 19 yards, INT.
