host posted on August 31, 2009 03:28
By Robert Carter
The North Jefferson News
It was the debut of The New Fultondale Wildcats, where passing would actually be a part of the game plan and not just an afterthought.
So what was going through coach Keith Register’s mind when, on his very first pass attempt, junior quarterback Gary Willis threw an interception over the middle?
“I was marking things out and wadding this up,” Register said, battling furiously with the laminated play chart.
But there was no need to worry. After being down to Addison by two touchdowns early, Willis completed five of his other seven attempts, including a touchdown pass to Chris Barber, as the Wildcats came back with five unanswered touchdowns to score a 38-20 win in Thursday’s season opener.
And while Willis definitely improved as the night wore on, this wasn’t exactly Air Fultondale.
The dependable duo of Barber and C.J. Mixon produced the great majority of Fultondale’s yards, and points. Mixon ran for 167 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns, including a spectacular 62-yard run in the first quarter that started the Wildcat comeback.
Barber caught an 11-yard pass from Willis for a touchdown, then scored on a 1-yard run and a game-clinching 48-yard dash, in which he broke two tackles to get into the open field. Barber finished with 160 yards on 21 carries.
Even with the big yards from the rushing game, Willis did show signs of weaning the Wildcats away from the ground attack that has been their mainstay for many a season.
After the scary start, Willis let Mixon and Barber do their thing for a while, then finished off the first half with an 8-yard drive that included four straight throws to Deundrea Marshall, with three of those passes connecting with the sophomore receiver. Willis finished it off with an 11-yard toss to Barber to tie the game with :33.9 left before halftime.
After the break, Mixon capped off the opening drive of the second half with a 12-yard charge straight up the middle to put the Cats ahead for the first time.
After the teams swapped stopped drives, Fultondale went on another long drive that spanned 15 plays over then end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth. A 27-yard pass from Willis to Marshall put the ball into Bulldog territory, then Mixon got Fultondale close with three straight runs that took him to within inches of the goal line. Barber scored when he waltzed in unharmed off the left side.
Freshman Ardarius Stewart added to the home team’s lead when he intercepted a Jordan Rivers pass and ran it back 49 yards for a touchdown.
Addison threatened again immediately after the pick, when Rivers found Trent Dodbee for a 50-yard touchdown pass, but Fultondale answered three plays later when Barber broke away for his long score.
Willis threw for 87 yards — a mile by the Cats’ previous standards — as his team racked up 454 yards total offense.
Rivers was 8-for-19 with two interceptions for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Fultondale (1-0) faces Isabella at home Friday night in its first region game.
| |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Final |
| Addison |
14 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
20 |
| Fultondale |
6 |
8 |
6 |
18 |
38 |
Scoring summary
ADD—Blake Robinson 2 run (Jordan Rivers kick)
ADD—Robinson 23 run (Rivers kick)
FUL—CJ Mixon 62 run (run failed)
FUL—Chris Barber 11 pass from Gary Willis (Barber run)
FUL—Mixon 12 run (run failed)
FUL—Barber 1 run (run failed)
FUL—Ardarius Stewart 49 interception return (run failed)
ADD—Trent Dodbee 58 pass from Rivers (run failed)
FUL—Barber 48 run (run failed)
Team statistics
| |
ADD |
FUL |
| First downs |
12 |
17 |
| Rushing-yards |
27-160 |
40-367 |
| Passing yards |
121 |
87 |
| Total offense |
281 |
454 |
| Comp.-att.-int. |
8-19-2 |
5-8-1 |
| Fumbles-lost |
0-0 |
3-1 |
| Punts-average |
3-28.0 |
None |
| Penalties-yards |
5-45 |
7-65 |