With a playoff game on the line, Fort Payne rose to the challenge on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 35-32 victory over the Homewood Patriots. Fort Payne's win was all the more impressive since the Patriots were averaging only 14.83 points allowed on the season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Fort Payne to victory, but perhaps none more so than Dax Varnadore, who threw for 277 yards and a touchdown. Carter Blalock helped Varnadore out on the ground, rushing for 57 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite the loss, Homewood still got an impressive performance from Kaleb Carson, who rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.8 yards per carry, and also threw for 240 yards and a touchdown. Those 195 rushing yards gave Carson a new career-high. Kylen Newell was Carson's top target, picking up 122 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The victory was the tenth in a row for Fort Payne, bringing their record for this year to 10-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 35.7 points per game. As for Homewood, the loss snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 9-3 record.
Fort Payne will take on Oxford at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Oxford is coming into the match with five straight wins at home, so Fort Payne will have to stop a squad with plenty of momentum. Homewood does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
