Senior quarterback Timothy Carpenter threw three touchdown passes to lead a consistent offense and the defense stopped Fairmont’s option offense in its tracks for a 38-8 nonconference victory.
The practice Graham didn’t like was on the heels of a 21-7 loss to Cincinnati Winton Woods when the Rams cost themselves a chance to win because of multiple mistakes.
“I think the team realized it kind of takes some adversity, and I hate to say that because I think we should be able to play through adversity,” Graham said.
The Rams (1-1) started the game with an 80-yard drive in 10 plays and took a 7-0 lead on Michael Smith’s six-yard run. Carpenter was 5-for-5 on the drive for 52 yards and started the game 9 for 9. He finished 14 of 19 for 216 yards and rushed 11 times for 81 yards.
But Fairmont came right back with an 82-yard kickoff return by Stevie Doty and took an 8-7 lead. The Rams ignored any effect of that play and drove to a 13-8 lead on Carpenter’s two-year touchdown pass to Dexter Owensby. The Rams made it 25-8 at halftime on Carpenter’s three-yard run and Smith’s 60-yard run after a Fairmont personal foul kept the drive alive. Smith finished with 134 yards on 19 carries. Carpenter threw touchdown passes of 73 yards and 23 yards to sophomore speedster Armani Rodgers in the second half.
“This one was everything,” Carpenter said. “We knew we needed to come on the road and sneak in a game against a tough opponent. I feel like the offense executed because we knew what we needed to do was score points and keep their offense off the field because of what they run on offense.”
It didn’t matter what the Firebirds tried on offense. Linebacker Issiah Evans said freshman tackle Jeremiah Nash was great at the point of attack so he and fellow linebacker Keymaurie Henderson could combine for 14.5 tackles. The message all week was stop the dive play.
“We stop the dive we make them uncomfortable,” Evans said. “Our coaches said all week, we take everything, we give them nothing.”
First downs were difficult to come by for the Firebirds much less executing their staple of long, clock-eating drives.
“We were concerned about their offense for sure and we couldn’t get them off the field,” Fairmont coach Dave Miller said. “But we did nothing on either side of the ball. We’ve got a lot of improvement to do there. And credit to them and their defense. I can’t take that away from them.”
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