Cheatham County Exchange
ASHLAND CITY WEATHER

Fairview reasserts region dominance with Sycamore shellacking




The Sycamore offense huddles up before a drive.Andy Simmons

The Sycamore offense huddles up before a drive.Andy Simmons

PLEASANT VIEW – Fairview and Sycamore came into Friday night’s contest in Pleasant View eager to prove why they should be the favorite to win the Region 6-3A crown.

The Yellow Jackets proved, once again, that it’s their region to lose, moving to 3-0 in the region and winning their sixth straight game with a 33-13 victory over the War Eagles.

“You can’t commit pre-snap penalties and turnovers, and that ended up costing us early on,” said Sycamore coach Justin Robison, whose team now sits with a 3-4 overall record. “I still liked the game plan. We showed we could be physical with them all night long. Had things worked out our way, where we didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot and commit those turnovers, this is probably a 21-14 type ball game. All credit to them, they’re a good team obviously.”

The Brock Harris to Kam Harris-Luck combination was one that gave the War Eagle defense fits in some key spots. Harris has replaced Harris-Lusk at quarterback, allowing Harris-Lusk to move around the offense and be used in a number of different ways. The duo linked up five times for 78 yards and a score on a fourth-and-13 play in the second half that essentially sealed the game – one of two touchdowns on the night for Harris-Lusk.

“They find so many ways to get Kam the ball,” Robison said. “I think we limited Kam until the second half, but it’s pick your poison. It’s either going to be (Blake Russell) or it’s going to be (Kam Harris-Lusk). They’ve got some ball players over there.”

The War Eagles opened up the contest with a solid drive, chewing up the majority of the first quarter clock with physical running from Tyler Niebel. They were unable to capitalize, and all it took was two plays for Fairview to take the lead for good.

Harris flipped a dime to Blake Russell for 64 yards, as Russell ran a good 30 yards after collecting the pass. Harris finished the game with two touchdown passes and a rushing score, completing 9 of 14 passes for 213 yards.

A fumble halted the War Eagles next drive when Trevor Gagnon attempted to make a play on a keeper-option. With the ball in the red zone, it took Fairview just three tries to score when Harris-Lusk ran it in from 1 yard out on a jet sweep.

Not even a second-and-43 could stop the Fairview offense, which overcame that yardage after three consecutive holding penalties to reach the end zone on Harris’ quarterback sneak to score right before halftime.

Yellow Jacket running back Logan Nardozzi got into the act on the first drive of the second half on a bruising 5-yard touchdown run.

Sycamore added two consolation touchdowns later in the game thanks in part to two Niebel scoring runs. Niebel eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark in the game for the fifth time this season, and also passed the 1,000-yard mark on the occasion with a 188-yard performance on 32 carries.

Although the War Eagles may have taken a big blow in their hopes of capturing the region title, the opportunity to host a home playoff contest is certainly still in the cards.

“Our kids fought hard all game,” Robison said. “I still think we’re one of two top teams in this region for sure. It’s disappointing, but we still have a shot at home field advantage for a playoff game, and that’s something to build on.”

 

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