The Fayette Fayette did not waste time making their presence felt Friday night, dominating Linn from the opening whistle all the way to a commanding 30-0 Central State 8 victory on the road.

The Falcons controlled the game on both sides of the ball at Linn, keeping the Wildcats off the scoreboard while steadily building their lead throughout the night. Fayette’s strong performance gave the team another important win as it continues its season-long push for success. 

The Falcons started on defense and did not wait to let their presence be known. After a couple of big stops, the Wildcats fumbled and put the ball directly into the hands of Fayette sophomore defensive lineman Kace Kelsey. The Falcons’ drive would eventually end as a turnover on downs. This did not uninspire the team; however, a couple of plays into the defensive drive, another fumble was forced by sophomore linebacker Paxtyn Llewellyn.

Penalties hurt the Falcons moving into the second quarter. Fayette started with a punt. But on the Wildcats’ third drive, they fumbled again. This time they managed to hold on to the ball. But the sequence pushed them back behind the sticks. The defense stepped up again, causing a turnover on downs.

With the defense leading the way, Fayette’s offense finally seized the momentum. Senior fullback Brodi Tucker ran the ball 66 yards, completely flipping the field, and setting up the Falcons in the red zone. Senior quarterback Colten Cross then took the rest of the way for a touchdown with 8:03 left in the second quarter.

Following the score, Tucker punched the ball in for a successful two point attempt, giving the Falcons an 8-0 lead.

The Falcons momentum continued rolling as they charged the field with a series of short runs and completions. This led the Falcons into the red zone. Cross knew he had to do something special. After a snap went above his head, he tried getting loose for the scramble, but there was never an opening. Then on a Cinderella play, he lateraled the ball back to Tucker just before getting tackled. Tucker then took the ball all the way to the 1-yard line. Then Cross rushed in for the touchdown once again, and Tucker drove in for a successful two-point try. With 1:43 left in the quarter, the score of 16-0 looked relieving for the Falcons.

The momentum did not stop there for Fayette. Senior lineman James Cowans forced a fumble, peanut punching the ball out of the hands of a Linn rusher.

This gave the ball back to Fayette without much time on the clock. Senior Ledger Conrow took things into his own hands as he caught a 36-yard completion, setting the Falcons up slightly past midfield. Short completions from Cross kept pushing the offense piece by piece, eventually leading to an 11-yard touchdown reception by Conrow.

Cross kept the ball again as he was untouched going into the end zone for the two-point attempt, pushing Fayette’s lead to 24-0 just 14 seconds before the mid-game break.

Most of the second half proved to be a scoring stalemate, with the Falcons giving younger players some much-needed game experience. Tucker had many explosive hits that stopped all of the Linn momentum. In the fourth quarter, however, the Falcons found some traction with the younger guys. After a deep pass attempt from Cross to sophomore receiver Keilin Pulliam, a pass interference call put Fayette into scoring territory. On a 29-yard quarterback keeper, Cross found pay dirt again, putting his team ahead 30-8 with 8:37 left in the game.

“We made many adjustments, and I think our kids handled that pretty well,” said Fayette coach Kenny Grubb.

There are many things to take away from the Falcons’ second win of the season on Friday, from a dominant defensive performance to an offense that consistently found ways to move and score the ball. Fayette showed its ability to control the game from start to finish. The victory not only added a tally to the win column but also showed what this team can accomplish when all three phases come together.

Cross finished the day completing seven of eight passing attempts for 114 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 90 yards on a game-high 20 attempts, scoring three touchdowns.

Tucker ground out 94 on eight rushes, including a long of 67 yards. Pulliam added four carries for 33 yards, including a 23-yard rush. He also caught one pass for two yards.

Conrow had a breakout night as a receiver. He hauled in three passes for 57 yards and a touchdown, including a 32-yard strike. Senior Ky Cunningham had two catches for 31 yards. Pulliam added one grab for 24 yards.

Defensively, Tucker again led the way with 24 tackles, a dozen of which were unassisted. He finished with three tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Sophomore Kingston Ejilika recorded 10 tackles (5 solo), including one for a loss of yards. Conrow and Cross each added four takedowns, with three each from Cowans, Llewellyn, Cunningham, and Christian Craig.

The Falcons look to carry that same energy and execution into this week’s home game against defending Class 1 state champion Tipton. The Cardinals, unbeaten at 6-0, are fresh off a dominating performance over Harrisburg for their second CS8 win of the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night in Fayette.

Next week, Fayette pays its final road game of the regular season at South Callaway (2-4, 0-2). The Falcons return home on October 23 to host area rival Harrisburg for the regular-season closer on Senior Night.