[Stardust]

November 19, 2011
Fairview’s title hopes dashed
Eagles get out to 18-0 lead, only to have it slip away

Rocky Stanley
The Independent

WESTWOOD — Pikeville quarterback Randy Maynard called it a thriller.

For Fairview, it was more like the big fish that got away.

For the second year in a row, the Eagles watched a lead melt away in the Class A regional championship game.

Fairview rushed out to an 18-0 lead Friday night on its home field, only to watch Pikeville play the role of spoiler perfectly.

Maynard, bottled up by the Eagles’ defense most of the night, scored on a 1-yard sneak with 9:53 remaining and the Panthers staved off a Fairview comeback in the final minute for a 20-18 victory.

“It was a great game by both teams,” Eagles coach Nathan McPeek said. “They just made a couple more plays than we did.”

Maynard, the driving force for Pikeville all season, managed only 9 yards rushing and five completions as Fairview constantly kept defenders around him.

“I didn’t have that many good runs,” Maynard said. “Fairview did a good job of locking down on me all night.”

But he came up with the plays the Panthers needed to win their first regional title since 2004. They will advance to next week’s semifinals against Hazard.

Maynard connected with freshman Cody Estep for a 64-yard touchdown in the second quarter to start Pikeville’s comeback.

The Panthers scored again just before halftime. A 15-yard penalty against Fairview kept the series alive, and three plays later Chase Hall scored on a 74-yard run. Maynard’s two-point conversion pass to Connor Pack cut the Eagles’ lead to 18-14.

Maynard provided the only scoring of the second half to cap a 61-yard drive. Hall ran 37 yards on the first play. The Panthers later faced fourth-and-7, but Gavin Miller took a Maynard screen pass 20 yards to Fairview’s 1. Maynard wedged up the middle on the next play as Pikeville became the first team all season to hold a lead against the Eagles.

“This one was a thriller,” Maynard said following the Panthers’ jubilant celebration in front of their fans. “It was hard fought. We got down 18-0 early but didn’t lose our composure. I can’t remember ever coming from that far behind to win.”

Pikeville (9-2) had to hold off Fairview at the end.

The Eagles took over at their own 11 with 3:54 left following a Pikeville punt, then picked up three first downs. Quarterback Ty Lowe converted a fourth-and-11 by finding Mikey Felty for a 20-yard pickup. Fairview reached the Panthers’ 21 before Miller intercepted a pass near the goal with 16 seconds remaining.

“There are a lot of sad faces in the locker room right now, but I told them to reflect soon on all the good memories,” McPeek said. “I want them to think about all the positives.”

Eagles went 12-0 for the first time in school history and had three 1,000-yard rushers to go with a 1,000-yard passer (Lowe).

Devon Turner gained 70 yards on 17 carries to join teammates Chris Brewer and Chris Littlejohn in the 1,000-yard club.

Brewer led the Eagles on Friday night with 85 rushing yards. His touchdown runs of 2 and 4 yards helped stake Fairview to its three-touchdown lead. In between Brewer’s scores, Eagles’ freshman Calen McKnight returned an interception 45 yards to the end zone.

But Littlejohn suffered a sprained ankle early in the second quarter and didn’t get back into the Eagles’ offense until the fourth quarter. He had a 12-yard reception during the late drive.

“Fairview is a heck of a football team,” Pikeville coach Chris McNamee said. “Littlejohn going down was definitely a factor. Brewer gashed us early, but we were able to make some defensive adjustments. It’s just a huge win.”

Hall, a sophomore, ran for 174 yards as Pikeville made up for a couple of drops on deep passes.

It wasn’t a good night for kickers. Zach Burgy Vanhoose, a weapon for the Panthers all season, missed two extra points and a 35-yard field goal attempt while Fairview also went 0-for-2 on extra-point tries.http://dailyindependent.com/localsports/...pes-dashed