Just one week after setting the all-time school rushing record, junior star running back Eli Frost had yet another historic night breaking the all-time Cullman county rushing record as Fairview defeated Lawrence County 51-30.
Last week Frost came in needing an absurd 350 plus rushing yards to claim the record, and that proved no tough feat for the talented back as he went off for 383 yards on the night. Tonight, yet another mountainous feat was needed to claim the all-time record for Cullman county, West Point’s Kobe Smith set the record of 2,222 rushing yards in 2015, and Frost needed 299 yards tonight to claim the rushing title.
After another monstrous half, Frost was sitting at 192 yards and was within a slingshot of the record, by Frost’s rushing standards. In the third quarter, 107 yards short of the record, it only took three quick possessions to set up the record-claiming run. Mid-way through the 3rd quarter Frost took a handful down the right side for an 11-yard gain and the title of “King of Cullman.”
For those keeping stats, Frost finished with 330 yards and 5 touchdowns on 35 carries. That’s over 700 yards and 12 touchdowns in the last two weeks alone. Frost, who continues to set the record books, had this to say on yet another milestone for his career, “You know what I’m gonna say…. I have the best line and receivers in the state. These records are great, but we are not finished, we have bigger goals we want to accomplish.”
For those who know Frost that line comes weekly as genuine as it can come. In future articles, we may simply put “retweet” next to the Frost quote. But in all seriousness, you won’t find a more humble, hard-working back around than Eli Frost.
He wasn’t the only Aggie rolling tonight, however. In just a half of football junior do-it-all receiver/runningback, Jameson Goble gained 60 yards on two carries and a touchdown. Quarterback Barred York had 31 yards and a touchdown, and freshman Jake Harper had 62 yards.
Defensively, several Aggies made big plays. Senior lineman Carson Jennings came up with a big sack, Isaac Elrod had six tackles and a blocked punt, and Cade Foster came up with a late interception. Freshman Colt Redding also drilled a 33-yard field goal and went 6 for 7 on extra points.
Jennings, who many see as the engine of the defense, got a chance to catch up with us after the game, “You know, my 9th-grade year I had a bad injury and had to sit out so since then I really just see every play as maybe my last so I want to give it all I have.”
You’ll notice at certain times in the game Jennings will call the group on the field together, and he added this on when and why he will do that, “We expect to play at a very high level with a lot of energy, and sometimes you can just feel that isn’t happening. So I try to bring the guys in and get us refocused and playing to the standard we know we’re to play.”
The Aggies not only defeated the Red Devils tonight but officiating as well. Fairview had 11 penalties for 105 yards, four touchdowns taken off the scoreboard, and at one point ran “1st and goal” four straight times. All those yards in penalties and four big plays helped Lawrence County put up more points than this defense is accustomed to allowing.
Coach Redding had this to say, “Execution is everything. We preach technique every day. Every play we look for something to reinforce and praise, or something to correct. So tonight we’ll have a little bit of both to do when we look at film.”
On the Russellville game coming up next week Coach Redding shared, “They have two talented receivers on the edge, a great running back from last year. They play really sound defense as well so it’s really going to come down to execution. We’re going to be playing a really good team.”
The win tonight moves Fairview to 7-1 on the season, 5-0 in 5A Region 8, and sets up for the game of the year thus far: the rematch against the Russellville Golden Tigers for the title of region champs. Last year Fairview traveled to Russellville in the second round of the playoffs and came away with what some called an “upset” 35-21. Fairview is looking for their first region championship since 2019.
