SAND ROCK – Earlier in the day Friday, Sand Rock football coach Alan Heath said he read where it was the 106th anniversary of the most lopsided college football game played between Georgia Tech and Cumberland. The final of that game was 222-0 in 1916.
The score between the Wildcats and top-ranked Fyffe on Friday night wasn’t quite that lopsided, but according to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society website, the Red Devils did set a team record for most points scored in a single game in a 70-14 win.
The old Fyffe record was 69 points scored in a 2020 first-round playoff game against Oakman. The Red Devils won that game 69-21.
Fyffe entered Friday’s game at Sand Rock coming off a 61-point outing last week against Collinsville.
“They beat us in every aspect of the game from the minute they kicked the football off,” Heath said. “It was as sound a beating as I’ve ever seen.”
Fyffe (7-0, 5-0 Class 2A, Region 7) scored touchdowns in five different fashions in the first half against the Wildcats (2-6, 1-4). The Red Devils’ first score of the game came when Brodie Hicks returned a blocked punt for a touchdown less than a minute-and-a-half into the game.
Hicks later scored on a 64-yard touchdown run to put the Red Devils in front 14-0. Following a Sand Rock fumble deep in its own territory, Logan Anderson ran in for a 20-yard score to give Fyffe a 21-0 advantage. Hicks scored his second rushing touchdown on a 34-yard run near the end of the first quarter to provide Fyffe a 28-0 lead.
Red Devil quarterback Blake Dobbins opened the second-quarter scoring with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Evan Chandler. Then on the ensuing Sand Rock drive, quarterback Ace Ashley was intercepted by Hunter Machen who returned it for a score. Following a Sand Rock punt, Ryder Gipson scored on a 50-yard run to make it 49-0 before the Wildcats found the end zone.
Ashley connected with Everett DeBoard on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 3:39 remaining in the first half. Ashley’s pass for the 2-point conversion fell short to keep the score at 49-6, but then on the ensuing kickoff, Lawrence Blackwell returned it for a touchdown to make it 56-6.
Ashley and DeBoard hooked up for another touchdown – this one a 29-yarder just before the first half ended. Ashley then connected with Brian Giles for the 2-point conversion to make it a 56-14 game at halftime.
With that touchdown and 2-point conversion, the Wildcats scored the most points Fyffe has allowed this season. Plainview scored 13 on the Red Devils in a 56-13 game back on Sept. 23.
“There were a few things we knew we were going to have, and we did have it. When we executed and ran the right routes, we connected on a few things,” Heath said. “We moved the ball all right, but even if you move the ball all right, if you don’t tackle and execute it doesn’t matter.
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years. The stuff we do works. It’s just executing. That’s what it boils down to.”
Fyffe scored on its first possession of the second half. Kaden Sharp ran in for a 4-yard score. Then, following a Sand Rock fumble, Draven Posey scored the game’s final touchdown on a 5-yard run at the end of the third quarter.
Hicks led Fyffe with 104 yards on three carries with two touchdowns. Gipson added 76 yards and a score on just two carries. Anderson finished with 45 yards and a touchdown on three totes.
Ashley led Sand Rock by completing 22-of-38 pass attempts for 259 yards and two touchdowns, both to DeBoard, who had five catches for 62 yards. DeBoard also recovered a fumble on defense.
Giles caught six passes for 59 yards. Lucas McDaniel finished with three catches for 58 yards.
Sand Rock seeks to end its four-game skid when it travels to Ider on Friday. Fyffe has a region showdown at Pisgah (6-1).