The key word on the Foley football practice field this week was “respond.”

As in, how would the Lions respond to last week’s 50-point loss at Class 6A No. 1 Saraland?

Head coach Deric Scott liked what he saw Thursday night.

The Lions got a pair of short touchdown runs by Kolton Nero, a pair of big plays from Auburn commit Perry Thompson and a huge defensive stand in the final minute and held off rival Fairhope 21-17 at Ivan Jones Stadium.

“That’s an old-fashioned rivalry game,” Scott said. “You can take the records and throw them out of the way. You can throw everything out. You are going to get the best from both sides. Kudos to coach (Tim) Carter and his guys and what they do, but all praise to our Lord and Savior but also to these young men on the Foley sideline. We just battled through this. We are excited for the win.”

Foley ended a three-game losing streak, evening its overall record at 3-3. The Lions are now 1-2 in 7A, Region 1 play. Fairhope (1-5, 0-3) lost its fifth straight game since opening the season with a win over Spanish Fort.

Scott’s team took the lead for good midway through the fourth quarter, driving 63 yards on five plays. Nelson Thompson hit Cooper Hermecz with a 15-yard pass to start the march. On the next play, Thompson threw a screen pass to Perry Thompson, who broke an initial tackle behind the line of scrimmage and then went back all the way across the field.

He gained 25 yards to the Fairhope 23.

“I saw the cornerback was coming up, so I was ready for the impact,” he said. “I made my move to reverse field and got a couple of yards.”

Nero carried for 17, 5 and 1 yard to give Foley a 21-17 lead with 6:06 left. He finished with 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 28 carries.

“We just had to make big plays in the moment,” Thompson said.

Foley stopped Fairhope on the Pirates’ next offensive possession and forced a punt. The Lions looked like they were on the way to running out the clock, but James Davis step in front of Nelson Thompson’s pass on a third-and-17 play and returned it 52 yards to the Foley 32 with 2:21 left.

Suddenly, the Pirates were back in business.

Godfrey gained nine yards on first down, but then lost a yard on each of the next two plays to bring up a fourth-and-3 at the Foley 25 with 1:06 left. After a timeout, Fairhope quarterback Jackson Robertson hit Godfrey on a throwback play, but Godfrey was swarmed for a loss of two yards.

Ballgame.

“This is big,” Nero said. “Coming off a three-game losing streak, we had to come back and set our tone. It was all about momentum. We can’t come into a game thinking we are going to run over them. We got off track a little, but we came back. We got locked in and put it together and you can see the outcome.”

Play of the Game: With the game tied 7-7 and Foley backed up to its 7, Nelson Thompson hit Perry Thompson for a 93-yard scoring play to give the Lions the lead in the second quarter.

“It was a pretty good route, a post corner,” Perry Thompson said. “I thought I could beat them. I got it and just took off.”

Thompson finished with three receptions on the night for 112 yards. He also played safety on defense and was in on most special teams.

–By The Numbers: 2 – consecutive wins for Foley over Fairhope. The Lions also won a tight game a year ago, 39-38, in Fairhope. Foley leads the overall series 54-43-4.

— Did you know? Fairhope has yet to score 20 points in a game this year. The Pirates have scored 17, 13, 10, 10, 10 and 17.

— Key stats: Godfrey finished with 31 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns for Fairhope. He also had four receptions for 20 yards. Mackellar Campbell kicked a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter to give the Pirates a 17-14 lead.

— Coachspeak: “I’m so proud of them after what they went through last week (a 70-20 loss to Saraland) and coming back this week. I told them our word this week was ‘respond.’ We responded a little better this week as far as a defensive performance. We’ve got some things we have to get situated, but I’m happy with what our defense did tonight. I’m most happy with our team response.” – Scott.

— They Said It:

“It ebbs and flows right now. It is kind of the story of our whole season. It seems like we get it going and then we shoot ourselves in the foot every now and then.” – Scott on Foley’s offense.

“That is Perry doing what Perry does. He’s a playmaker. We expect him to make those types of plays. We just have to do a better job of getting him in better situations.” – Scott on Thompson’s crucial fourth-quarter catch and run.

— Next week: Foley hosts Alma Bryant on Friday, while Fairhope hosts rival Daphne.