Fulton ends season with two wins and, hopefully, confidence
By Steve Williams
It was an unusual football season for Fulton High, which has had one of the state’s top programs over the past 30 years.
The Falcons lost their first eight games before winning their last two, including Thursday night’s 34-21 victory over South-Doyle at Bob Black Field. “I just hope our kids are believing,” said Justin Long, in his second season as the FHS head coach. “I hope that they feel like they can actually do it and do what we ask them to do.
“I’m proud of them. I’m proud to be their coach, and I just hope going into next year, this gives them the confidence that they need to go and work hard in the off-season, and let’s try to represent better next year.”
The Falcons couldn’t have had a better start in their season finale. Their 16-play, 80-yard drive certainly didn’t look like a team that started 0-8.
Rejuan Womble, who started the season at quarterback and ended with him as a running back, carried the ball nine out of the 16 times, setting up Waco Upshaw to score the touchdown with a determined run up the middle from six yards out on fourth-and-goal. Womble ran in for the 2-point conversion.
Also playing a big part in the drive were wide receiver Keirus Cox and quarterback Justin Burris, who hooked up for 10 and 22-yard pass plays.
Fulton’s defense also contributed early, forcing the Cherokees to punt after Shamarrian Freeman’s four-yard tackle for loss forced South-Doyle to punt on their opening possession.
The Cherokees cut Fulton’s lead to 8-6 midway through the second quarter when sophomore running back Mill Crenshaw broke loose and raced into the endzone from 24 yards out.
Penalties backed up the Falcons to their 3-yard line on their next possession, but they got out of the hole on Burris’ 22-yard pass to Womble and a 16-yard completion to Noah Lyons. A face-mask penalty also aided the long march, and Womble capped it with a 1-yard plunge. Duglas Banegas tacked on the PAT for a 15-6 halftime advantage.
Womble had back-to-back 23 and 26-yard runs to extend Fulton’s lead to 21-6 three minutes into the third quarter. S-D answered with wide receiver Reed Reynolds’ 29-yard run on a reverse. Crenshaw scored on a 3-yard run, and Isaiah Mitchell’s extra-point kick cut the deficit to 21-13.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Burris hit Lyons with a 9-yard TD pass to give Fulton a 27-13 advantage.
Fulton recovered South-Doyle’s onside kickoff and capitalized on the turnover. Womble carried the ball eight times in the 10-play drive and scored from the 1. Banegas’ PAT made it 34-13 with 6:18 remaining.
Late in the game, Reynolds scored on a 71-yard run down the sideline to pull the Cherokees closer. Tison Davis connected with Kamariyon Rice for a 2-point pass that shaved Fulton’s margin to 34-21 with 2:19 to go.
The onside kickoff was unsuccessful, and Fulton kept the ball. Burris took a knee at the S-D 27 to end the game.
The Cherokees had some success in the first half of the season, including an overtime win at Gibbs in Week 5. However, they lost starting quarterback Benson Brang to an ACL knee injury at Alcoa in Week 7 and also lost another quarterback after that to finish with four losses in a row and a 3-7 record.
“The buy-in that our senior class had is tremendous, and I can’t thank those guys enough for their buy-in and what they did and really setting the foundation,” said second-year coach Larry Headrick. “It’s a process and there’s a buzz about South-Doyle football and that’s a good thing. They set that foundation, and I’m extremely proud of them.”
