Fayette defeated longtime rival Westran in another close matchup on Friday, topping the Hornets 28-26 in the first round of the Class 1 District 7 playoffs at home. The shootout was punctuated by three long touchdown plays of 69, 72, and 80 yards as the teams slugged it out in front of a Halloween crowd on Thomas S. Davis Field.

The Falcons, seeded fourth in the district, have now defeated Westran twice this season by a collective margin of three points. Fayette won the first matchup in Week 4 of the regular season 7-6 in Huntsville.

The defeat ends fifth-seeded Westran’s season at 2-8 overall as the Hornets have struggled with injuries, adding up to seven straight losses.

For Fayette, the win is the first district victory since 2022, and the first at home since 2021. It also marks the first time in his three-year head coaching career that Fayette coach Kole Hinton has won four games, after finishing with two wins in each of his first two seasons.

Hinton said his team’s culture has improved significantly since last year, as he and his coaching staff work to push their players to reach their full potential. “We’re actively working toward our ceiling, trying to get the best out of our players,” he said.

Fayette now moves on to face district favorite and top seed Salisbury on the road Friday. The Panthers are undefeated so far this season and toppled the Falcons 46-0 in Week 3 of the regular season.

Hinton said the postseason is now all about revenge. He wants to upset the Panthers on Friday and get another crack at Harrisburg for the district championship. It’s a tall order for sure, as Salisbury has sailed through the regular season without much of a challenge. The Panthers have won every game this season by no fewer than 30 points, with three wins by way of shutout.

“We held them to eight points to the first quarter and a half last time we played them,” Hinton said about the Week 3 game in Salisbury. “We have more tricks up our sleeves, but they have great athletes.”

Friday’s victory over Westran was a close victory that mimicked the first matchup in several ways and ended in similar fashion. Even after some highlight reel scoring plays, it all came down to a few fourth-quarter turnovers. The first came with Fayette down 26-22. Junior Kyle Burreros forced the Hornets to fumble on their own 31-yard line. Senior Isaac Day then recovered the ball and ran it in for the scoop and score. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but the score gave Fayette a two-point lead.

Later in the game, with the clock ticking down, Fayette turned the ball over on downs while trying to ice the game. The fourth-down conversion would have allowed Fayette a fresh set of downs and the ability to run out the clock. But Westran regained possession just 40 yards from the endzone.

The Fayette defense held, and the Hornets were down to a fourth-and-three situation with 1:14 left to play. Westran put the ball in the air, and Fayette senior Caleb Craig came down with the interception.

Fayette then ran the clock out to clinch the win. It was just like the Falcons’ Week 4 win in Huntsville when junior Brodi Tucker made the game-winning pick.

“It was euphoric like last time,” Hinton said about the feeling on the sideline. “We dropped nine into coverage and felt good about the stop.”

After the one-point regular-season decision early in the year, Hinton said he was expecting a different game. Westran had some key players out with injury, but the Hornets came to play. They scored with 5:45 in the game on a 25-yard touchdown pass to take a quick 6-0 lead.

Fayette answered on its next play, driving the ball down the field and scoring on a six-yard run from senior running back Carter Vroman. Junior quarterback Colten Cross ran the ball in for the two-point conversion to give Fayette an 8-6 lead with 2:17 left in the first quarter.

Fayette retook the ball on the following possession. Craig recovered a Westran fumble on the Hornets’ 36-yard line with two minutes left in the opening quarter. Fayette then broke into its trick back on third-and-long. Vroman took the handoff from Cross, then found junior wide receiver Ky Cunningham on the 3-yard line. Vroman then opened the second quarter with his second touchdown of the night from three yards out. Cross again converted the two-point attempt on a keeper to put Fayette in control 16-6.

The game then broke open to big plays for both teams. Fayette got things rolling with 9:15 left in the half. Cross bounced out to the right and sprinted 69 yards to the house to extend the Falcons’ lead to 22-6.

Westran answered on its next possession, converting a third-and-15 with a 72-yard pass over the head of the Falcons defender for a touchdown to cut Fayette’s lead back to 10 points.

The Hornets then scored on an 80-yard play, all from a short screen pass to Carter Wells, who spun out of multiple tackles in front of the Fayette sideline before breaking for the long run to the house. The touchdown made the score 22-18 at halftime.

“They had two big scores back to back and got back into the game,” Hinton said.

It looked as if things would turn around for Fayette in the second half. The Falcons made an early defensive stop when Cunningham made an interception two minutes and 15 seconds into the third quarter.

But the Fayette offense sputtered out. On fourth down, a bad snap turned into a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, handing Westran the ball on the Fayette 20-yard line.

If you play later, the Hornets scored and converted the two-point attempt to take a 26-22 lead on their third straight touchdown.

“We just couldn’t figure it out on offense,” Hinton said.

Westran held the lead until Day scored the go-ahead touchdown on the late turnover, and Craig made the game-winning interception.

“I told them to never take a win for granted,” Hinton said.

Fayette’s defense once again dug deep. Bureros forced two fumbles and led the team in tackling with seven takedowns (4 solo) with a sack and two tackles for loss.

“He played really, really well. We’re happy about that,” Hinton said.

Vroman also had seven tackles (4 solo) with a tackle for loss. Junior Cooper Duren added seven (2 solo), followed by six for Tucker and four (1 solo) by senior Austin Kunze. Craig had an outstanding night with four tackles, a fumble recovery, and a key interception. Cunningham made three tackles (1 solo) and made a pick.

Offensively, Fayette got it done on the ground. Vroman ran for 93 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns.

Cross picked up 88 yards on five carries, including the 69-yard touchdown run. He also completed eight of 12 passes for 39 yards.

“He’s done a phenomenal job making decisions down the stretch,” Hinton said about Cross in his first year as quarterback.

Tucker ran for 25 yards on six carries, followed by 22 yards on five attempts by Craig.

Cunningham led the receivers with three catches for 27 yards, including the 24-yard reception from Vroman to set up Fayette’s second touchdown. Craig made two catches for nine yards. Sophomore Blake Braden made two grabs for six yards. Freshman Paxtyn Llewellyn and Vroman each had one reception.

With four wins and a playoff victory, the Falcons now travel to Salisbury. A win would advance Fayette to the district championship. A loss would end the season, and, therefore, the careers of seniors Carter Vroman, Caleb Craig, Austin Kunze, Isaac Day, Karson Dodson, and Ben Dale.

Kickoff on Friday is set for 7 p.m. in Salisbury.