Randolph seniors lead Raiders past Fairview
Randolph seniors Andrew Hunter and Nic Strong shined in their final regular-season home game, leading the Raiders past Fairview 34-14 at SportsMed Field in Huntsville.
Hunter had two touchdown passes and two touchdown runs, and Strong caught both touchdowns and ran for another. Randolph (8-2) led 21-7 at halftime in the matchup of playoff-bound teams.
“It’s always a great win, especially when you can do it for your seniors,” Randolph third-year coach David Lloyd said. “And we had a lot of starters out due to injuries or sickness. So, to see our young guys step up like that and have success was really great to see.”
Hunter connected with Strong on a 47-yard catch and run and a 20-yarder. He scored on runs of 37 and 6 yards.
“The seniors, we’ve been playing most of us since like fifth grade,” Hunter said. “So, it feels great to finish strong and we’re going to keep it going.”
Strong, who has offers from Columbia and Tennessee, opened the scoring with his 12-yard run in the first quarter.
“It was a great night offensively and defensively,” Strong said. “We scored at will. We had a lot of injuries and we persevered through that. It was the next-guy-up mentality.”
Carson Jones ran for two touchdowns for the visiting Aggies (7-3).
Star of the game: Hunter completed 18-of-22 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He had three carries for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Play of the game: Strong’s 12-yard run capped an eight-play, 87-yard drive after a Fairview fumble. Hunter Hess kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 2:44 to go the first quarter.
Key sequence: One play after a Fairview interception, Hunter connected with Strong on the 47-yarder. Hess’ extra point made it 14-0 at 11:38 in the second quarter.
Stat sheet: Randolph – Strong had 11 catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns. He had six carries for 61 yards and one touchdown. Conner Goodson added 14 tackles and an interception. Daniel Martin had 11 tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss. Bradford Hall had an interception. Fairview – Jones had 33 carries for 197 yards and two touchdowns, from 1 and 18.
By the numbers: 342, total yards for Randolph with 115 rushing and 227 passing. … 325, total yards for Fairview with 270 rushing and 55 passing. … 3, Aggies’ turnovers with two interceptions and one fumble. … 1, Randolph turnover on an interception. … 4, wins for the Raiders in five games all time against Fairview.
Coachspeak: “Defensively, we came up with some big takeaways. We had a fumble recovery and two interceptions. Offensively, I thought we were really efficient with the ball. I thought we did a good job protecting it. We look forward to the playoffs.” – Lloyd
“We put ourselves in some tough situations with some turnovers and penalties. I’m proud of our young guys for stepping up this week. We have had multiple injuries, and I was proud of the young men who stepped in and competed.” – Fairview coach George Redding
They said it …: “It was a very important game for us, our last regular season home game ever. We just wanted to come out here and win.” – Strong
“Coming out here and playing, winning the game, competing, especially at our last regular season home game. You never want to lose, just always want to come out here and compete and win the game.” – Goodson
What’s next?: Fairview hosts Guntersville in the first round of the 5A playoffs. Randolph hosts Rogers in the first round of the 4A playoffs