The Fayette Falcons met a formidable foe Friday night in Fayette but were able to take a 42-26 Homecoming  win against the No. 6 Harrisburg Bulldogs.

With what seemed like most of the populations of both cities in attendance, the game began with Harrisburg driving the length of the field before sophomore Hayven Samuels crossed the goal-line on a two-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion attempt failed, giving Harrisburg an early 6-0 lead.

Undaunted, the Falcons turned around and had a scoring drive of their own capped by a seven-yard run by senior Garren Vroman. Vroman laid out and stretched to reach the pylon for the score. Unlike Harrisburg, Fayette was able to make its two-point conversion to take an 8-6 lead. 

For a short time, it looked as if this game would be the type that whichever team scored last would be the victor as Harrisburg took the ensuing kickoff and mounted a drive to the Fayette three-yard line. Just as it seemed the Bulldogs were on the verge of scoring, Fayette senior DJ Moore delivered a hit to Samuels that would force a fumble. Freshman linebacker Micah Estes alertly fell on the ball to regain possession for Fayette with 1:05 left in the first quarter.

Trying to gain some space between the line of scrimmage and the end zone, the Falcons put the ball in the hands of Vroman. Vroman promptly took the ball 77 yards on a run from the Fayette eight to the Bulldog 15-yard line.

After the quarter change, Moore scored on a two-yard run, stretching Fayette’s lead to 14-6. “That fumble is not a negative if we turn around and stop them,” said Harrisburg coach Steve Hopkins. “Instead, Garren Vroman busts a 75-plus yard run and then they get in. We needed to match them, and right then I thought we were ready to score and be right in it. But instead, they opened up that two-score margin.”

Again the teams went into a pattern of driving down the field and scoring as Harrisburg junior Austin Darwent hauled in a 28-yard pass from senior Tanner Lanes for a score, drawing Harrisburg back to within two points of the Falcons.

The Falcons then turned around and put more points on the board as Moore reached the endzone from two yards out to give Fayette a 22-12 lead heading into the locker room at the half.

Following a stalled drive by Harrisburg to open the second half, the touchdown exchange continued when Fayette quarterback Ben Wells connected with Moore on a 24-yard touchdown pass to put Fayette in front 30-12.

Not to be outdone, Lanes and Harrisburg senior Jace Carr proceeded to connect on a 63-yard touchdown pass to bring Harrisburg to within 10 as the two teams entered the final quarter.

Throughout the game, the scoreboard game clock had not been working, making it very difficult for teams to keep track of the amount of time left in the game. As the third quarter wound down, Fayette coach Mike Thompson was heard to ask the line judge how much time was left. The official replied, “I’ll tell you after this play.” As soon as the play was whistled dead, the back judge, who was responsible for keeping time and notifying the sidelines, called for the end of the quarter. Thompson turned to the line judge and said, “well, I guess that answers that question,” as the two teams switched ends of the field.

Fayette continued to march down the field in a drive that culminated with Wells finding senior Logan Wiswall with a five-yard pass as he cut across the middle of the end zone. The score put Fayette in front 36-20. 

Even with a 16-point lead, Fayette continued to keep pressure on the Bulldog offense. While being pressured by the Falcon defense, Lanes attempted to hit junior Anthony Alicea with a pass across the middle. Seemingly out of nowhere, Estes appeared between the ball and Alicea to make the interception and give the ball back to Fayette at midfield.

Fayette started a drive that led them to the Harrisburg 17-yard line where Wells ran around the left end for Fayette’s last score of the evening, giving the Falcons a 42-20 lead.

Harrisburg struck back quickly with Lanes hitting junior Braden Wyatt for 54 yards and a touchdown to bring Harrisburg back to within 16 points.

Although both teams had attempted variations of the onside kick all night, the last one attempted by the Bulldogs resulted in the Falcons retaining the ball and being able to run down the clock for the 42-26 win.

“They were a much better team tonight, and they deserve all the credit,”  said Hopkins.  “This year we’ve been pretty good at getting off blocks, but tonight we didn’t get off blocks. Now that’s a credit to them, it means they’re executing their block.”

With no scoreboard clock, the final seconds seemed anti-climactic as it took a few seconds for both players and fans to realize the clock had wound down and the game was over. Once the realization hit, however, the celebration began.

In what was possibly the biggest football game in Falcon history, Fayette had pulled off an upset by defeating the No. 6 ranked team in Class 1 and pulled even with them in both the district and conference races as far as records go. In the district, however, Fayette holds the lead now by virtue of head-to-head competition. In conference play, Marceline will take over the top spot followed by Fayette then Harrisburg with all three teams sporting an overall 5-1 record. Marceline holds the conference margin, however, by defeating Fayette earlier in the year and remaining unbeaten in the L&C. 

Vroman led Fayette’s ground attack with 250 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries. Senior Avery Powell racked up 50-yards on nine carries, while Moore ran nine times for 32 yards and two touchdowns. Wells accounted for 31 yards rushing and a touchdown with his five carries. Junior Chase Allen-Jackman garnered 10-yards on three carries.

Wells completed eight of his 11 attempted passes for two touchdowns while senior Dalton Collins completed one pass for 27 yards. “They knew some of our audibles on our passing so we had to change up a few things,” said Wells. “We got it through, and our chemistry came together and did well. Our defense did well, they got a couple of touchdowns in the first half but we got it together and played well defensively as well.”

Allen-Jackman paced Fayette with four receptions for 43 yards. Moore had one reception for 24-yards and a touchdown. Senior Dalton Collins caught three passes for 21 yards while classmate Logan Wiswall had one reception for five yards and a touchdown.

“Coach Hopkins is a smart guy,” said Fayette coach Mike Thompson. “I knew if we could control the line of scrimmage, and force them to bring people into the box, we could go ahead and throw it outside. But they refused to bring those guys into the box because you don’t want to be one-on-one with Chase (Allen-Jackman) and Dalton (Collins) on the outside. So Harrisburg played it as straight up as they could. Our guys did a good job of picking it up when they tried to play games with some linebackers.”

Moore led the Fayette defense having a share of 10 tackles with two sacks and one forced fumble. “We came out with a lot of energy,” said Moore. “We knew they blew us out last year, so we knew we had to come back this year, harder than ever. We knew we had to play with a lot of tension and effort.”

Micah Estes finished the night with eight tackles to go along with his interception and a fumble recovery. Seniors Chris Brown and Tyler Bartholomew were each in on five tackles with Bartholomew stopping a two-point conversion by way of an interception. Senior Avery Powell came away with three tackles. Senior Cale Hudson ended the game with two tackles and also had an interception to stop a two-point conversion. Fellow seniors Collins and Wiswall each had two stops as well. Juniors Haden Kelly, Malakai Graves, and Allen-Jackman each contributed two stops, as did sophomore Bryce Callahan. 

Juniors Zane Franz and Carmelo Hockaday, along with sophomore Brandon Moore, each added one tackle.

“Our guys in the middle, Chris (Brown)—because it’s always Chris in the middle—at defensive tackle, and DJ (Moore), had awful good nights on defense,” said Fayette coach Mike Thompson. 

Harrisburg’s Tanner Lanes connected on 12 of his 17 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

Harrisburg sophomore Hayven Samuels carried the ball 10 times for 19 yards, while senior Gavin Curtis ran three times for seven yards and Alicea gained one yard on one carry. Darwent led Harrisburg’s receiving corps, pulling down six passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. Carr had two receptions for 71-yards and a touchdown while junior Braden Wyatt hauled in two for 53 yards and six points. Alicea garnered five yards on one reception.

On the defensive side, senior Austyn Furlong was in on 12 tackles while Alicea had 11. Braden Wyatt pulled down 10 Fayette ball carriers. Senior Gavin Curtis had nine tackles while senior Brayton Stephenson and junior Logan Fritts each had eight. Seniors Carr and Fike each had seven to go along with juniors Darwent and Bryce Rowden’s six apiece. Junior Izik Butts, along with sophomores Hayven Samuels, Hunter Cole, and Gaven Samuels, each had four tackles, while junior Harley Whitaker added two.

“I think this is chapter one, and we’ll have a chance to see each other again in about four to five weeks, either in the district semifinals, or the finals,” said Hopkins. “Hopefully we’ll get another shot because that means both teams ha made it at least a round or two in the playoffs and it will be a great opportunity for both teams.”

With the loss, Harrisburg dropped from No. 6 in Class 1 football to No. 10.

Fayette will travel Friday to Salisbury to face the 1-5 Panthers while Harrisburg hosts Scotland County (3-4).