FIGHTING TIGERS: B.B. Comer gives Fyffe toughest battle of year before falling
Dec. 2—AUBURN — On the second play for scrimmage, Kamore Harris bolted 67 yards for a touchdown, giving B.B. Comer an early lead in its first state championship game appearance in 27 years.
Unfortunately for the upstart Tigers, that quick punch to the mouth appeared to wake up Fyffe, the giant of Alabama small-school football. Fyffe surged to the lead by the end of the first quarter and rolled to a 40-28 victory in the Class 2A finals.
This marks the sixth state title in nine seasons for Fyffe, which was ranked No. 1 in the state sports writers' poll all season. It's also the sixth time in nine seasons that Fyffe went 15-0.
Even so, the Red Devils got their toughest fight of the season from B.B. Comer, which never went away. Until Friday, Fyffe's closest game came in a 21-point win in the regular season finale over Sylvania, a Class 3A state semifinalist.
"I just want to talk about how proud I am of this program, how proud I am of these guys," said B.B. Comer coach Adam Fossett, whose team finished 12-3. "The guys in the locker room are feeling it right now. Without their commitment, we're not here. I'm not here. The program has come a long way in five years, and it's due in part to these guys sticking with it and working hard.
"Tonight's game didn't go the way we wanted it to, obviously, but I feel like at the end of the day, we showed up."
Harris finished with 180 rushing yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. Devin Harvey tossed a 44-yard touchdown pass to receiving ace Richard Weed in the second quarter, and Tristan Garrett scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Harris, in particular, left his mark on Fyffe.
"He's not what we're used to seeing," said Fyffe's Will Arnold, who led his team with nine tackles. "He's a big guy."
For Fyffe, state finals MVP Brodie Hicks rushed 45 times for 235 yards and five touchdowns. Of his yards, 158 came after halftime.
Down 17 entering the fourth quarter, B.B. Comer strung together a seven-play, 69-yard touchdown drive, which came on an 8-yard rush by Garrett. That made it 33-22, and B.B. Comer couldn't trim the margin any closer.
In the end, the Tigers couldn't overcome a critical first-half stretch in which miscues set up three Fyffe touchdowns in a span of fewer than six minutes.
Up 8-0 and driving in the opening quarter, B.B. Comer got to the Fyffe 38, but suffered a sack on fourth-and-six to turn over the ball. Fyffe drove for a touchdown.
B.B. Comer then fumbled on its next play from scrimmage, setting up the Fyffe go-ahead touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers couldn't come up with it. The Red Devils dove on the ball and immediately embarked on a touchdown drive to push their lead to 19-8.
Late in the first half, trailing 19-16 after Weed's touchdown catch, B.B. Comer stopped Fyffe on fourth-and-goal on the Tigers' 5-yard line, but an interception allowed the Red Devils to add a touchdown with only 13 seconds before halftime.
That put Fyffe up 26-16, and the Red Devils got the kickoff at the start of the second half. On their way to a touchdown, they chewed more than six minutes off the clock on an 11-play, 63-yard drive.
After Garrett's touchdown, Fyffe went on another long scoring drive to go up 40-22 and ice the victory.
A 54-yard kickoff return by Weed, set up the Tigers' final touchdown, which came on Harris' 3-yard run.
Senior Editor Mark Edwards: 256-235-3570. On Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.
