AHSAA Class 5A football playoff 2nd round:
Fairview Aggies vs. Jacksonville Golden Eagles
Site: Golden Eagle Stadium in Jacksonville
Friday 7:00 p.m.
RADIO: WKUL FM (92.1)
Series: 1st meeting
Fairview: 11 & 0, 1st in Region 7
Jacksonville 6 & 5, 3rd in Region 6
LAST WEEK: Fairview 14 to 7 over Arab
Jacksonville 14 to 7 over Ramsay in OT,
1st round of playoffs.
Fairview: 399 points, 150 allowed, 5 & 0 on road
Jacksonville: 252 points, 234 allowed, 3 & 3 at home
Analysis:
Fairview is facing a squad that has 5 losses, 4 of them to teams that are in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
Jacksonville was 3rd in Region 6 behind Moody and St. Clair County. The Golden Eagles three losses outside the region were to Anniston and Alexandria, the top 2 teams from 4A, Region 6 and
the Corner Yellow Jackets out of 5A, Region 5.
Fairview's schedule is good for the Aggies defeated No. 2 Russellville 35 to 28 and No. 3 Priceville 28 to 9 from 5A, Region 7.
A 14 to 7 victory on Halloween weekend against Good Hope comes against a squad that was 2nd in 4A, Region 5 and has won 9 of 11 games.
Fairview will look to utilize its strength in running the ball with senior tailback Jake Harper to see a lot of touches.
Harper ran for 175 yards against Arab and scored the game winner from 3 yards out with 7:22 to play in the 3rd quarter.
The Aggies will have to shown some balance to keep Jacksonville guessing. Kolt Redding completed 5 of 9 passes last week, throwing a 30 yard TD to Jace Stephens.
Fairview's 2 TD drives were 80 yards and 85 yards.
The first drive came after Redding intercepted an Arab pass in the Fairview end zone.
Jacksonville was at Legion Field last week in getting the upset over Ramsay in OT.
The Golden Eagles were down 7 to 0 at the half, tied the game in the 3rd quarter and took the lead on their lone series in OT.
An interception near the goal line ended the contest, giving the Golden Eagles a wonderful return home, knowing they would be on their turf for the Round of 16 in the North Region.
The winner of Fairview/Jacksonville plays the winner of Scottsboro/St. Clair County in the quarterfinals the weekend of November 21.
Photo of the Fairview Aggies vs. the Good Hope Raiders October 30 from Dafford Smith Stadium.
Photo courtesy of Soulmate Snaps.
