3A FINAL: Oddities contribute in Catholic loss to Fyffe
Action from Thursday’s Class 3A Championship game between Montgomery Catholic and Fyffe. The Red Devils came from behind to defeat the Knights, 21-16. (Photos courtesy Dennis Victory)
By GRAHAM DUNN
TUSCALOOSA – It seemed like the Montgomery Catholic Knights had the Red Devils of Fyffe right where they wanted.
A state championship in Class 3A seemed to be in the grasp. Instead the outcome became a strange 21-16 loss to the Red Devils at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Thursday.
“When the game was on the line, we felt like we could still come back,” stated Fyffe coach Paul Benefield, who has led the Devils to three consecutive titles with the win on Thursday.
“This is a confident bunch. They have a culture of winning and it showed when we were down.”
Well into the second quarter, it looked as though Catholic was moving toward its first title in school history. The Knights had built a 16-0 lead and was dominating on both sides of the ball.
But at the 2:33 mark of the second period, everything seemed to take a turn, mostly for the worst.
First, the Red Devils got on the board with their first score on an Ike Rowell touchdown run to pull within 10 (the extra point was blocked).
In the final minutes of the half, Catholic drove deep into Fyffe territory and had a chance to score on the final play of the half.
After quarterback Caleb McCreary’s pass to D.J. Carter was incomplete with four seconds left, the Knights lined up for what would be a 20-yard field goal.
The kick was blocked and returned for a touchdown by the Red Devils.
But Catholic coach Aubrey Blackwell had noticed the play clock had hit zero before the snap and requested a review of the play.
Fortunately, the AHSAA was using instant replay for the game and the rules stated a timing error could be reviewed.
The irony of the offense wanting a penalty worked in the Knights’ favor as the call was reversed and the points for Fyffe were taken off the board.
Instead of trying a second time for a field goal, Blackwell chose to go for the touchdown but the pass from McCreary to Carter was incomplete, ending the half with Catholic up, 16-6.
“I thought they’d call the field goal back,” Blackwell said of the penalty. “When that huge shift in momentum happened, I wanted to give (Butler) a chance to go get another one.
“I liked the matchup in that case. We were really close to getting it.”
Instead, Fyffe stayed in striking distance and eventually began to slow the Catholic offense.
Fyffe continued to grind in the third period and added their second touchdown just seconds into the fourth on Rowell’s run of 3 yards.
The Knights offense seemed to be hitting the skids at that point, running just eight plays on one possession in the third period.
The defense for Catholic did come up with a goal line stand but was unable to move out of the shadow of its own endzone and gave up a safety on a punt when kicker Gabe Russo stepped out of bounds.
Trailing by a point, the Red Devils then drove for the go-ahead touchdown in four plays with Rowell scoring his third touchdown from the 1 late in the final period.
Catholic still had just over a minute remaining to drive for the winning score and got to the Fyffe 34-yard line but the final pass hit two Catholic receivers on the fingers and fell incomplete.
It would be Fyffe’s first title in 3A.
Catholic would fall in its first try but no one in blue and black felt conquered after the loss.
“I was so proud of this group,” Blackwell said. “Everybody sold out. They came to work every day and to be here was something special. I am so grateful of how they fought.”