Coal Grove dominates Fairland on senior night
By: Tyler Bush
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LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ohio (WOUB) – The Coal Grove Hornets took the lead and never looked back as they beat the Fairland Dragons 30-0. The Coal Grove stands were rowdy as they celebrated this year’s class of seniors on a night where they clinched the OVC title.
The Hornets opened the game the way they have been the entire season: running the ball. Coal Grove sustained a long drive downfield thanks to their running back duo of Kaden Murphy and Caden Turner. Murphy would eventually find the end zone on an 8-yard run to put points on the board, and a successful 2-point conversion would put the Hornets up eight to nothing.
Fairland would have the chance to answer and would slowly inch towards the end zone, but Coal Grove would hold, forcing them into a turnover on downs to stop the Dragons’ drive. In the final moments of the quarter, Coal Grove faced a second-and-41 after a slew of penalties. Thanks to Murphy, it quickly turned into 4th and 2, which would ultimately be converted.
It would be much of the same in the second quarter, as the Hornets would continue their drive for just over five minutes before Caden Turner would get his own touchdown after a 3-yard run. This time, the conversion failed, but the Hornets would still lead 14-0.
The Coal Grove defense held strong again, and the offense would get back on the field minutes later. Turner would be called on for a second time tonight and would answer with a 39-yard touchdown. After the conversion it was 22-0 in favor of Coal Grove.
As time dwindled down in the second half, Fairland had the chance to get something on the board, but fumbled it in the middle of the field. The good news for the Dragons was that the Hornets fumbled it seconds later, and no points would be scored by either team.
Coal Grove would score once more in the second half as it put this game away 30 to nothing. Coal Grove secured the OVC title with this win and move to 7-2, facing Rock Hill in its regular season finale. Fairland falls to 3-6 and will look to close out the regular season with a win against Chesapeake.