Portsmouth West opens their season with a hard fought victory
< < Back toWEST PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (WOUB) — It was a beautiful night for high school football week one in West Portsmouth, with a showdown between the Fairland Dragons and the Portsmouth West Senators. While this back-and-forth affair kept fans on their toes, Fairland closed out the gritty match, winning 32-29.
The first quarter started out slow for both offenses. They had each other locked down on defense, both teams gridlocked on the field.
However, the second quarter proved there was a game to be played. Portsmouth West came out of the break strong with Mason Parker scoring after only 11 seconds of play.
The Dragons responded almost immediately, scoring their own touchdown just over one minute later, but failed to score their extra point, resulting in a Portsmouth West lead of 7-6.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair for the Dragons and the Senators. After a Fairland touchdown from Peyton Jackson, Portsmouth West intercepted the ball and took it to the house – keeping it close with a lead of 14-13.
Fairland proved once again their effectiveness at responding to a strong offensive drive with Quintin Cremeans scoring with 20 seconds left in the half, making the score 20 -14 going into the locker room.
Opening the third, Fairland built on their lead with another touchdown from Kam Hitts and a blocked extra point, putting them up by almost double Portsmouth West’s score of 26-14. But in the fourth, the Senators showed they were still determined to build a comeback.
Within the first 10 seconds, Portsmouth West’s Cole Tipton pulled in the pass, keeping the game tight in the home stretch. After a long back and forth defensive battle, Portsmouth scored again with just over a minute left of play, making it 29-26, reclaiming the lead that teetered between the two teams.
In their final drive, Fairland plowed down the field, effectively using the little time they had left to allow Peyton Jackson to score the final touchdown on the fourth down in the final seconds of the game, closing it out with a statement Fairland victory.
Portsmouth West looks to get into the win column next week hosting Portsmouth at 7:00pm, while Fairland hosts Wellston next Friday at 7:00pm with hopes of remaining undefeated.