The third-seeded Harrisburg Bulldogs defeated sixth-seeded Fayette in a low-scoring grudge match on Friday, 16-6, in the Class 1 District 2 postseason tournament. Harrisburg held the home-field advantage after earning the higher seed.

As every coach says, the start of districts is the beginning of a new season. When the two teams met three weeks prior, the Bulldogs walked away with a 46-14 win. Friday’s game was very much the opposite, as the two defenses battled it out to a scoreless stalemate over the first half.

“When you know an opponent really well, one of two things can happen. Either you run all over them, or it’s a shootout. Or it’s a stalemate,” said Fayette coach Kole Hinton. “And it was definitely a stalemate in the first half.”

Harrisburg has developed a high-scoring offense with senior quarterback Trace Combs, junior running back Caleb Sager, and senior wide receiver Bryce Ott behind a beefy front line. But the Fayette defense had prepared well over the prior two weeks. Both teams had earned a bye week, while the bottom four teams in the district battled it out last week in a play-in round.

The Falcons stopped Harrisburg’s opening drive with a quarterback sack before pressuring an incomplete pass to force a punt.

“They had a hell of a game plan on defense,” said Harrisburg coach Brennan Claas. “They rattled our kids a little bit, and when we weren’t having success right away, we reverted back to some things.”

For the second game in a row, Fayette opened in the wildcat offense with junior running back Carter Vroman taking the snaps. Hinton first deployed this style in the Falcons’ win over Russellville in the final week of the regular season.

“If you’ve got one of the best players in the state, if not the best player in the state, you’re going to live and die by him. You’re going to want the ball in his hands. We asked him to do it all,” Hinton said about Vroman running the offense.

Vroman led all rushers on the night with 111 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, with a long run of 36 yards. He also completed four of five passes for 74 yards.

The Falcons were able to move the ball down the field, converting a fourth-down attempt on their first possession. But the drive eventually stalled.

Claas said his coaches saw Fayette’s new offensive scheme against Russellville and prepared in practice based on that, along with what Fayette had done the rest of the season. “Putting a great athlete back there at quarterback makes it very difficult. I thought it was a very smart move on their part,” he said.

The familiarity between the two teams was evident. Almost every offensive play was answered by the opposing defense. Neither team was able to move the ball much in the first half. While both teams were able to gobble up double-digit yardage, neither could breach the end zone.

Harrisburg came as close as the 23-yard line late in the second quarter, but another sack of Combs forced a turnover on downs. The two teams traded turnovers in the final 7.5 seconds. The Bulldogs took over on the Fayette 42-yard line after recovering a Fayette fumble. But on the next play, Falcon senior cornerback Camden Kindle picked off Combs when the Harrisburg receiver slipped on the wet grass.

An incomplete pass by Fayette as time expired sent both teams to the locker room scoreless.

Claas said his halftime speech became fiery at times.

“I was a little disappointed with the bickering. I can handle mistakes,” he said.

The second half was more of the same. Both teams started the third quarter going three and out. Fayette finally broke into the red zone on its second drive, as Vroman connected with senior wide receiver Kaleb Friebe on two long passes to the Harrisburg 19-yard line.

But three consecutive plays for negative yardage resulted in a fourth-and-24 situation and a punt.

Finally, it was Harrisburg that broke the stalemate. Starting on their own 9-yard line, the Bulldogs moved the ball down the field with Combs and Sager each running for healthy chunks of yardage. Combs then connected with Ott on a 21-yard pass into the end zone for the first score of the game.

Junior Rylee Robinson then ran the direct snap into the end zone for the two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs an 8-0 lead with 1:02 left in the third quarter.

Not to be outdone, Fayette answered on its next drive. Starting the fourth quarter on third-and-five from their own 47, senior Micah Estes put the Falcons within striking distance with a run to the Harrisburg 30-yard line. On the next play, he ran again, this time to the 17-yard line. A seven-yard rush from Vroman brought the Falcons to the 10-yard line.

With the drive about to stall, Fayette benefitted from a defensive pass interference call to set up a fresh set of downs just six yards short of the goal line. Two plays later, Vroman exploded up the middle for a touchdown.

But with the lead on the line, Harrisburg’s defense dug deep. When Vroman again ran the ball for Fayette’s two-point conversion attempt, Bulldogs senior Angel Guzman delivered a massive hit, upending the Fayette runner and jarring the ball loose.

“This could’ve been his last game,” Claas said about his senior lineman. “That’s a kid who didn’t play last year and came out to practice every single day to get better. I thought he played a great game. He came down and just laid the wood.”

The few inches between the ball and the goal line allowed Harrisburg to maintain a two-point lead with under nine minutes left to play.

Claas said he thought the two-point denial was the turning point in the game. “I thought that was huge. Because, at that point, the game was wide open. I think both teams had worn down defensively. The offense found a few things we liked, and we kept pushing the buttons.”

Harrisburg increased its lead to 10 points on its next drive. On the first play of the possession, Combs faked the handoff to Sager, then broke loose down the right side for 62 yards and a quick touchdown. A reverse pass play to Sager for the two-point conversion made the score 16-6 with 8:34 left in the game.

“I think we were a little rattled, a little nervous. But once we settled down, we executed like I expected us to,” Class said about his team’s return to form in the second half.

The 10-point deficit didn’t phase the Falcons. On the first play of their next drive, Vroman delivered a long 37-yard running play to the Harrisburg 29. Fayette inched its way to the 12 before another fumble returned the ball back to the Bulldogs on their own 13-yard line.

“Not only did we not make enough plays, we made some detrimental plays, too,” Hinton said. “We fumbled the ball and fumbled snaps. When you do those things, it’s very hard to put yourself in a position to win.

“They finally resorted back to their bread and butter, and we just could not figure it out. But they’ve got some pretty big dudes, and we’ve got some undersized guys. Offensively, we had some pretty good things. We just couldn’t quite put it all together.”

Harrisburg kept the ball on the ground, burning the clock before finishing in victory formation to keep its season alive.

For Fayette, the loss was the end of a disappointing season marked by a 2-10 overall record.

“Our season was definitely disappointing,” said Hinton, who has led Fayette to four wins over his two seasons as a head coach. “We all thought it would go differently. Especially after last year being a building year with a new coach and a new style. But we also got a bunch of new coaches this year. I’m definitely disappointed in how it ended, but we had a buzzsaw of a schedule. I think it’s a good building block for us. The culture is going to continue to be instilled. Hopefully, we continue to buy in. The off-season starts soon, and the best teams are built in the off-season.”

Fayette bids farewell to seniors Jacob Wood, Kaleb Friebe, Micah Estes, Noah Tecumseh, and Camden Kindle. All five made their marks on the season as well as the close finish against Harrisburg.

While Friebe’s senior season could not be measured on the stat sheet, Hinton said his heart and leadership were unwavering all season.

“I couldn’t be more proud of him. He went out every single day and did what he was asked to do to the best of his ability at all times.”

Friebe had his best receiving game of the season on Friday with four grabs for 66 yards, including a 33-yard catch and run play.

A significant loss to the Falcon lines will be that of Jacob Wood. He moved over from the tackle position at the end of the regular season finale when center Karson Dodson sustained a season-ending knee injury.

“He’s the leader of our offensive line,” Hinton said about his senior lineman. “He leaves it all on the field, offensively and defensively. He’s just the heart and soul when it comes to energy. I’m super proud of him.”

Alongside Wood on the line was Noah Tecumseh. Hinton called him the unsung hero of the Fayette line. “Noah goes to work every single day, and he fights his butt off. He’s a guy we can rely on to run the ball behind and down block. He’s a guy we’re going to miss on our offensive line.”

Offensively, Fayette loses half of its one-two rushing combination. Micah Estes racked up 10 yards on 12 carries, and made three catches for 23 yards in his final game in a Falcon uniform. “He’s a great athlete, and he runs the ball super well. He’s an athlete we are going to miss next year,” Hinton said.

Camden Kindle returned to the Falcon defense after sitting out his junior season. He ended his high school career with an interception in the first half of Friday’s game. “I’m proud of him. He didn’t play last year, but he came out for his senior season,” Hinton said. “I think that’s really gutsy. He showed up and made plays. He’s an athlete we’re going to have to replace next year.”

For Harrisburg, the hard-fought win was the beginning of what Claas hopes will be a long postseason. The Bulldogs hit the road next week to face second-seeded Westran.

The Hornets easily advanced to the district semifinals after walloping 10th-seeded Cole Camp 50-8.

Cole Camp had advanced to the quarterfinals after winning its only game of the season, 30-22, over Russellville in the play-in round the Friday before.

Combs got it done for Harrisburg in Friday’s game, rushing for one touchdown and passing for the other. He picked up 103 yards rushing on 11 tries and completed four of nine passes for 56 yards with one interception.

Out of the Harrisburg backfield, Sager led his team with 108 yards on 16 carries. Leading the receivers was Ott with two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Jonathan Darwent had a monster game with a team-best 13 tackles (7 solo), six tackles for loss, and forced two fumbles. Junior Victor Shouse also finished in double-figures with 11 take downs (4 solo) and three tackles for loss.

Friday’s game will be the first between Harrisburg and Westran this season after facing off as regular conference opponents in seasons past.

Claas said preparing for Westran’s passing game will be challenging since most of the Bulldogs’ opponents in the new Central State 8 score their points on the ground.

“It’s going to be much different. Fayette runs the ball right at you. Westran will run the ball when they want and throw it all over. They’ve got speed. It’s very much a temperament change for us.”

Friday’s game will kick off at 7 p.m. on Westran’s home field in Huntsville. The winner will advance to the championship game on Friday, November 22, against either first-seeded Tipton or fourth-seeded Salisbury.