No. 1 Fyffe defeats No. 4 Red Bay 28-20

By Staff
Kim West
Franklin County Times
RED BAY – No. 4 Red Bay gave top-ranked Fyffe a fight in Friday night's seminfinal showdown as senior wide receiver Pablo Makepeace had a career night in his first start at quarterback this season.
After matching the heavily favored Red Devils punch for punch, Red Bay committed the game's only turnover with less than three minutes left in the game while driving for the tying score to lose 28-20.
The loss capped a 13-1 season that included the Tigers winning the Class 2A, Region 8 championship and finishing with only the seventh undefeated regular season in program history and tying the 1976 school record for most wins in a season.
"Fyffe has a good football team and they deserve all the credit in the world, but we felt confident going into this game," said Makepeace, who finished with 202 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns and was 2-of-3 passing for 59 yards. "We knew whoever won this game would get to play in the state championship game … it' s been amazing playing with these guys this season, and I'm going to miss playing with them."
Fyffe scored on a 13-play drive that chewed up nearly seven minutes off the clock and put the Red Devils ahead 28-20 with only 5:03 left in the game.
On the ensuing drive and facing third-and-12 from his own 28-yard line, Makepeace rolled right and zipped a 55-yard pass to tight end Caleb Collins, who was sandwiched between two Fyffe defenders to give the Tigers a first down at the Red Devils' 15-yard line.
On the next play, Josh Senkbeil took a handoff up the middle for a 1-yard gain, but he was shaken up on the play and remained on the ground long enough to silence the raucous crowd at Fred Bostick Jr. Memorial Stadium.
Senkbeil was able to walk off the field but had to sit out one play, so Red Bay sent in sophomore quarterback Cody Palmer, who had led the Tigers to victory the past two weeks, and Makepeace took Senkbeil's tailback position.
Red Bay faced second-and-9 at the Fyffe 14-yard line with over two minutes left, but the ensuing handoff from Palmer to Makepeace was fumbled. The Red Devils recovered at the 15 and managed to run out the clock.
"Fyffe is a good football team, but we had them on the ropes tonight," said Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys. "But to win a game like this, we couldn't afford to make mistakes. We had move some people around when Josh came out, but the fumble wasn't anyone one person's fault – we probably shouldn't have made the changes."
Red Bay opened the game with an eight-play, 85-yard drive that featured Senkbeil powering his way for two first downs to keep the drive alive and a 40-yard keeper and 15-yard score by Makepeace to go ahead 7-0 with 8:12 left in the first quarter.
After trading punts with Red Bay, Fyffe took over on its own 42 and drove 58 yards in 11 plays as Taylor Thrash scored from the 20-yard line. Norbert Blum's PAT with 8:35 left in the second quarter tied the game at 7.
Red Bay responded less than two minutes later when Makepeace charged up the middle and outraced several defenders down the right sideline for a 51-yard touchdown. Makepeace added the PAT to put Red Bay ahead 14-7.
But on the next Fyffe drive, Kyle Greeson rumbled 27 yards and Jared Hairston went over the top to find Thrash for a 58-yard scoring pass with 6:25 left until halftime to tie the game at 14.
The Red Devils opened the second half with a 16-play, 82-yard drive and seized their first lead when Tyler Gore scored from 12 yards out with 7:51 left in the third quarter to put Fyffe ahead 21-14.
Red Bay marched 75 yards in eight plays as Makepeace faked a handoff and scampered in for his third score of the night from the Fyffe 13. Cody Armstrong busted loose for a 27-yard gain to put the Tigers in Fyffe territory, and Makepeace kept the drive alive with a 22-yard gain.
"Our team played their guts out tonight, and I'm proud of our kids," Jeffreys said. "They're an even-keeled team that never got too high or too down this season, and they rank up there with some of the best teams I've coached."
Fyffe will play defending champion Leroy in the Class 2A title game Dec. 7 at Legion Field in Birmingham. No. 3 Leroy defeated No. 8 American Christian 42-35 Friday to return to the finals.