Donovan Dierker’s PAT kick made gave Fairborn a 38-32 advantage, but that hardly felt like it would be enough after the teams combined for five touchdowns in the second quarter and kept trading blows early in the third.
The Fairborn defense stiffened, however, and did not allow the Pirates (0-2) to find the end zone again.
“I believe in our guys,” second-year Fairborn coach Randy Kerns said. “We have players that can play football. We’ve just got to wake up at times. We believe in our scheme and our physicality. Eventually things will turn in our favor. We’ll wear on them and make a play. We’ve got playmakers.”
Parrish put a dagger in West Carrollton’s comeback hopes when he went up the middle for a 25-yard touchdown with 3:12 left, the second time he scored on the same quarterback trap play. The first went for 68 yards and helped the Skyhawks build a 17-6 lead midway through the second quarter.
He finished with 176 yards on 7-for-9 passing and ran for 86 yards on nine attempts.
“It feels good,” Parrish said. “We’ve got probably the best team we’ve had in a while, but we’ve still got to improve and I think it’s gonna go good this year.”
On a night of big plays and standout performances, Warner managed to stand above the rest.
The 2019 All-Ohio first-teamer ran for 237 yards on 26 carries and had 83 yards on two receptions. He finished with five total touchdowns and contributed four tackles from his linebacker spot.
After the Skyhawks went 3-7 last season, their eight straight losing campaign, Warner said he heard from others he might be better off finishing his career somewhere else, but that is not his style.
“Being a part of changing culture is really where I want to be, and that’s why I didn’t transfer,” he said. “Everybody was telling me to transfer, but I was like, ‘No, I want to stay here and change it.’”
Kerns is certainly happy to have him around for one last season.
“We’re trying to get these guys to understand there are dudes here,” Kerns said. “We’ve got some guys, it’s just getting them to believe in themselves and getting them to do things the right way every day. We still fall into bad habits at times, blame each other and point fingers, but for us it’s just a culture focus. Controlling what we can control, just getting good relationships with the kids and getting them to trust us. Showing them we’re competent and we care about them and giving them support. Our administration and our town really want a winner. It’s a step-by-step process. We’ve got guys like (Warner) who really speeded things up for us a little bit.”
Credit: Marcus Hartman
Credit: Marcus Hartman
Kamaury Cleveland led West Carrollton with 216 yards passing and two touchdowns. The junior quarterback also ran for 32 yards but was under heavy pressure much of the night.
He threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jordan Berry, who finished with 113 yards receiving, but a late interception hurt the Pirates’ chance to rally.
Anthony Baltimore and Leon Nevels were credited with 15 tackles apiece for the Pirates, who also got 103 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Tyron Darby.
Their last lead came when Dujuan Howard returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown with 8:17 left in the third quarter.
That set up Warner’s heroics with the long touchdown reception, a short throw in the flat he took up the sideline for six points.
“My guy fell, and I got a really good block from my receiver way down the field, so I just stiff-armed the next kid and then just busted it open from there,” Warner said.
Next week, Fairborn travels to Tipp City to take on fellow unbeaten Tippecanoe while West Carrollton is scheduled to play at Sidney.
About the Author
