On the ensuing kickoff, Fairmont kicked the ball out of bounds. Instead of taking the penalty, Wayne made Fairmont kick the ball again. This time, Averette-Brown, a state champion sprinter and Ohio State football commit, got his hands on the ball and made the most of the opportunity.
“They definitely didn’t want to kick it to me,” Averette-Brown said. “They were scared. They were avoiding me all day. The one time I got the chance, I took it and got a good kick return.”
With a short field, the offense took advantage. Isaiah Thompson scored on a 19-yard run with 2:12 to play in the third quarter to give Wayne a 14-10 advantage, its first lead of the game.
Thompson ran for 117 yards on 19 carries. He has five touchdown runs in five games.
In the fourth quarter, Wayne put the game away with a time-consuming drive that ended with quarterback Kye Graham’s 1-yard touchdown run with 1:03 to play.
Fairmont (1-4, 1-1) scored on a 3-yard pass from JJ Hill to Nolan Stringer with 19 seconds to play and added a 2-point conversion but couldn’t recover an onside kick in the final seconds.
Wayne (3-2, 2-0) joined Beavercreek (3-2, 2-0) and Springfield (2-3, 2-0) in first place in the Greater Western Ohio Conference with five games to play. Beavercreek beat Miamisburg 21-19 on Friday. Springfield beat Centerville 35-0.
“I just want to give all honor to God,” Wayne coach Roosevelt Mukes said. “Our players and our coaches, they did a great job. We knew it was going to be a physical game. We talked about that all week. The guys stepped up to the challenge. (Fairmont’s) a great team. It plays hard. It’s very well coached. They’re never out of a game.”
Wayne started 0-2 in the GWOC last season before winning four of its last five games.
The Warriors beat Fairmont (1-4, 1-1) on Friday despite being outgained 353-284 in total yards. Logan Doty accounted for most of the production on the Fairmont offense, gaining a career-high 223 yards on 32 carries. Fairmont also had an almost 12-minute advantage in possession time.
Wayne and Fairmont have split the last four regular-season meetings. Prior to a 26-21 Fairmont victory in 2022, Fairmont had not beaten Wayne since 2008.
Last season, Wayne lost 43-22 loss at home to Fairmont in the regular season but then beat Fairmont 20-10 in the second round of the playoffs.
Averette-Brown started the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown catch from Graham with 10:54 left in the first quarter. Averette-Brown caught five passes for 60 yards. He has three touchdown catches and two touchdown runs this season.
Graham completed 13 of 15 passes for 129 yards.
Fairmont tied the game at 7-7 on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Hill to Tyrell Lake with 7:54 left in the first quarter.
Fairmont started the second half with the ball and ran almost nine minutes off the clock before taking the lead on a field goal.
“Bend but don’t break,” Mukes said. “(The defense) did a great job. It’s never over until they cross the goal line.”
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