Friday night inside Dafford Smith Stadium started with literal fireworks, but the best fireworks would come later as Fairview rolled over Brewer 55-13 in what would prove to be a historic night, while clinching a home advantage in the first round of the AHSAA playoffs.
Coming into the game, junior star runningback Eli Frost was 358 yards and two touchdowns away from the all-time rushing record in yards and touchdowns at Fairview. Matt Black has held both records since 1994.
It took less than a quarter of play for him to not only tie, but break the all-time touchdown record. With a mind boggling seven rushing touchdowns on the night, he extended his record to 33 in a game that was never close.
In just the first half, Frost gained a total of 333 rushing yards, leaving him 25 short of the record with a half to play. After a quick stop on defense, it took only five plays til Frost broke free for a 32 yard touchdown run, which gave him the all-time rushing yards record. Frost ended his night at 381 rushing yards on just 28 carries, and is less than 100 away from the 2k club.
Frost had this to say on his historic season, “I just couldn’t do it without my line and receivers who block for me. It’s a team record as much as it’s a personal record. This was a goal of mine going into the season, and I’m just so thankful to have achieved it.”
Head coach George Redding, who happened to be Black’s quarterback in ’94, added this, “He’d be the first to tell you how much it has to do with the guys around him (exactly what he did). But when you’re as humble and hungry has he (Frost) is, you’re going to have success. He works every single day to get better.”
Frost had a historic night, but he wasn’t the only Aggie rolling. Carson Jones had seven tackles. Jake Harper, a freshmen starting at linebacker, racked up three sacks on the night. The defense overall forced four three-and-outs in the first half and held the Patriots to just 83 first half yards. A secondary that showed some cracks early in the season against Priceville managed to keep the Brewer spread offense in check all game long.
Coach Redding spoke on Harper, “He really took on his role on the team, and every day he’s learning something new. He’s tough as nails too. He just keeps improving.”
Junior defensive back Jameson Goble gave some insight on the secondary’s improvement, “We just focus on the drills, footwork, and gameplan. Our mindset is, ‘Do your job.’ As long as we all do that, we’re in good shape.”
Fairview improves to 6-1 on the season (4-0 in 5A Region 8), and will head on the road next week to take on the 2-6 Lawrence County Red Devils. Regardless of that outcome, likely another Aggie win, the following Friday will set up a winner-take-all bout for the region with the Russellville Golden Tigers. Last year Fairview travelled to Russellville, where they knocked them off in the second round of the playoffs.
