Fairland beats Rock Hill on the road in close thriller
By: Jackie VanHoose
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IRONTON, Ohio (WOUB) – The first night of conference play in the Ohio Valley Conference had the Rock Hill Redmen hosting the Fairland Dragons in an action-packed, explosive game. The Redmen were looking for a win in their homecoming game after two losses, and Fairland came into this with high expectations following a two-game winning streak. After trading the lead a few times, Fairland pulled off a 39-17 win.
Kickoff went to Fairland to start, and after a possession by each team, Fairland’s Xander Collins punched in a six-yard touchdown to put one of these teams on the board. The first quarter was marked by defense-heavy play, with these teams having an equal battle of strength on the defensive line. Rock Hill answered the six points by Fairland with a 51-yard pass from quarterback Jarrod Bridges to Braylen McClellan, putting themselves in the lead 7-6 going into the second quarter.
The Dragons turned up the heat with a touchdown early, with Kinyon Smith nailing a 30-yard pass to Kylan Blake to put them back in the lead, 12-7. After some more back and forth with the ball, Rock Hill hit a successful field goal and inched closer to the top with a score of 12-10. These two teams were not letting up, and as Rock Hill went to punt, the ball landed in the hands of Fairland’s Kylan Blake, who ran for a 52-yard touchdown. Continuing that electric momentum, they punched in their two-point conversion to put them up 20-10 going into the half.
The game continued to be a back-and-forth between these two teams, with excellent early performances by Fairland’s Blake and Rock Hill’s McClellan, but in the end, Fairland came out on top on the road 39-17. Fairland continues on the road Sept. 18th against Gallia Academy, and Rock Hill will move on to play South Point at home.