Nolan Holloway (44) drags down Griffins quarterback Stephon Gadsden. | Joe Seibles
WINNSBORO – Fairfield Central and Blythewood were knotted more than mid-way through three quarters of the televised Friday Night Rival’s game of the week, but Blythewood pulled away late on the legs of Jaylon Boyd. Boyd had four touchdowns in Blythewood’s 45-22 win, and three of those came in the third quarter. The Bengals improved to 2-1 with the win and the loss bumped the Griffins to 0-3.
Both offenses struggled to find their early sweet spot. The Griffins’ first two drives were halted because of an interception and a fumble. The two early turnovers set Blythewood up deep in Griffin territory, but the Fairfield defense stood tall and forced turnover on downs on both possessions.
A Griffins punt near the end of the first quarter led to the game’s first score. The short punt gave the Bengals a short-field to work with, and a couple of plays later King Ford found Joshua Burrell for a 25-yard score.
Later in the second quarter, Jaylon Boyd found pay-dirt for the first time. His 45-yard dance through the defense padded the Bengals lead to 15-0, but the momentum was short-lived. A costly Bengals pass interference call on the very next drive opened the door for Griffins’ quarterback Stephon Gadsden to score on a 12-yard scramble.
Gadsden’s touchdown was the last score of the half, but it was not the last time Gadsden got involved on the scoring front. The Bengals lead stood at 15-8 going into halftime.
The Bengals fumbled the ball on the second half opening kickoff but managed to recover the ball. Blythewood coughed the ball up later in the drive, and this time the Griffins hopped on the loose ball.
Later in the next drive, Gadsden scrambled out of the pocket for a 16-yard dash that kept the Griffins alive on a crucial fourth down conversion. After the fourth down attempt, Gadsden showed that his legs were not his only dangerous asset. He hit-up former Griffins quarterback Jacob McManus for a 21-yard touchdown. Then, Edwin Aguilera split the uprights on the game tying point-after attempt.
A couple of big plays on the next Blythewood drive led to a quick scoring possession. First, Boyd put his nose down and charge up the field for a 46-yard gain. Later, he capped off the drive with an eight-yard touchdown.
The next Griffins’ drive mirrored the quick drive the Bengals just had. Will Barber nearly scored on his first hand-off of the drive, but he was stopped at the two-yard line after a 74-yard gain. Junior running back Devin Johnson finished the drive from one-yard out, and they tied the game at 22 on the PAT attempt.
Then, Boyd’s legs took over the rest of the game. A Griffins’ late hit on the ensuing kickoff allowed the Bengals to set up shop on the Fairfield 33-yard line. It took Boyd just one play to find the end-zone and put his team back up.
Fairfield was not able to answer back for the first time since the opening period. The Bengals defense locked down and forced the quick three-and-out. Another short punt landed Blythewood in Griffins territory, this time on the 46-yard line. Again on just one-play, Boyd stomped his way past the Fairfield defense and marched into the end-zone. His fourth touchdown put Blythewood up 35-22.
Patrick Godbolt quickly put down the next Fairfield drive after he picked off a tipped Gadsden pass. Four plays later, King Ford rang-up Noble Cooper for an 11-yard touchdown pass, and gave Blythewood the 42-22 edge.
The Blythewood defense continued to step up in the fourth quarter and they stymied any progress the Griffins looked to make. The Bengals secondary picked off their third pass in the fourth quarter and easily retained their double-digit lead.
Fairfield gets their first crack at a 3A opponent this week when they head to Calhoun County to take on the 2-1 Saints. The Bengals host the undefeated North Augusta YellowJackets this week.
Scoring
FCHS– 0-8-14-0-22
BHS– 8-7-27-0-44
First Quarter
BHS– Joshua Burrell 25 pass from King Ford. (K.Ford run).1:08.
Second Quarter
BHS– Jaylon Boyd 45 run. (Jerry Finney kick).5:21.
FCHS– Stephon Gadsden 12 run (S.Gadsden rush). 4:16.
Third Quarter
FCHS-Jacob McManus 21 pass from S.Gadsden. (Edwin Aguilera kick). 9:06.
BHS– J.Boyd 8 run. (Jerry Finney kick).7:01.
FCHS– Devin Johnson 2 run. (E.Aguilera kick).4:58
BHS– J.Boyd 33 run. (J.Finney kick).4:44.
BHS– J.Boyd 46 run. (J.Finney kick).3:21.
BHS– Noble Cooper 11 pass from K.Ford. (J.Finney kick).1:00.
TEAM STATS FCHS BHS
First Downs 12 12
Rushes/Yards 38-169 36-196
Passing Yards 45 94
C-A-I-TD 7-18-3-1 5-11-1-2
Fumbles/ Lost 4/1 3/1
Penalties/Yards 12-84 14-124
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing: BHS- Jaylon Boyd 21-218, Aamir Washington 5-11, Brandon Edwards 1-0, King Ford 7-(-25).FCHS- Will Barber 10-106, Stephon Gadsden 10-59, Omar Pauling 3-4, Devin Johnson 4-0.
Receiving: BHS- Brandon Edwards 1-48, Joshua Burrell 1-25, Noble Cooper 1-11, Jacob Owens 1-6, David Patten 1-4. FCHS- JR Edmonds 4-22, Jacob McManus 1-21, CJ Simmons 1-2, Will Barber 1-0.
Passing: LBHS-King Ford 5-11 94 yards, one touchdown, one intereption. FCHS- Stephon Gadsen 7-18, 45 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions.
