By Justin Graves
FAIRVIEW — Just moments after Fairview High had suffered its first loss of the season, George Redding scanned the Aggies’ locker room.
What Redding saw wasn’t pretty.
Smiling faces had been replaced with blank stares. A few players even had tears in their eyes.
It was a somber feeling. A team that came to Rainsvillle with high spirits was leaving with the agony of defeat.
Redding could sense the disappointment his players felt. The Aggies coach could see it in their eyes.
“Man, it felt like someone sucked the life out of the room,” Redding said. “The players were crushed.
“But honestly, I’m glad they took it so hard. That tells me this really meant a lot to them. That’s what you want to see as a coach.”
So where does Fairview go from here? How will the fifth-ranked Aggies respond after a 49-33 loss at Plainview?
Most people that follow Fairview football knew Plainview was going to be a tough opponent. The Aggies also know the schedule doesn’t get any easier from here on out.
Fairview (5-1, Class 4-1 4A, Region 7) plays its final home game of the regular season Friday when Guntersville (5-2, 4-1) comes to Dafford Smith Stadium. The Aggies follow with road trips to third-ranked North Jackson (6-1, 5-0) and Good Hope (5-2, 4-1 Class 3A, Region 8).
It’s a tough way to close out the season. Every team remaining on the schedule will be playing when the postseason begins in November.
But is that really a bad thing? After all, competing against playoff-caliber teams is probably the best way to prepare for the actual playoffs.
“You better believe it,” Redding said. “Playing all of these tough games back-to-back-to-back like this is only going to make us better. It’s going to help us get ready for the playoffs.”
When the Alabama Sports Writers Association releases its weekly football poll Wednesday, Fairview will most likely drop — possibly falling out of the top 10.
Luckily for Fairview, polls don’t determine playoff seeds in the Alabama High School Athletic Association. That’s what region games are for, and the Aggies have two more on the slate.
Fairview can still clinch a home-playoff spot by beating both Guntersville and North Jackson. If the Aggies only win one of those games, Redding’s team will most likely receive the third playoff seed in Region 7.
Guntersville beat Plainview by one point in overtime earlier this season. The Wildcats suffered a 14-13 loss to North Jackson — the only team without a Region 7 loss — Friday night.
While Redding knows Guntersville and North Jackson will be as tough — if not tougher — than Plainview, the Aggies coach feels like his team will be up for the challenge.
Based on some of the good things the Aggies did at Plainview, Redding has a good reason to be optimistic.
After staking Plainview to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, Fairview outscored the Bears 33-28 in the final three quarters.
“That’s one thing I have to say about our guys. They hung in there and fought to the very end,” Redding said. “We challenged them at halftime, and they responded.”
Offensively, Fairview didn’t miss a beat. Junior quarterback Trett Hardman completed 30 of 54 passes for 359 yards and four touchdowns. Josh Millwood also returned a kick 98 yards for a score.
There were plenty of bright spots, but there were also a few letdowns, too.
Plainview converted on third-and-long several times, and the 21 points that were surrendered in the first quarter put Fairview in a hole that would have been hard to overcome.
According to Redding, those problems will be addressed in practice this week.
“We’re going to get back to work and start getting ready for the next team,” he said. “That’s all you can do. We have to move on. It really stings when you lose. But you can’t dwell on it, either.
“There’s a lot of things we can take from this experience. Do I think the players will learn from their mistakes? Absolutely. We have to learn from them. Honestly, I think this experience will help us in the long run.”
‰ Justin Graves can be reached by phone at 734-2131, ext. 257 or by e-mail at jgraves@cullmantimes.com.
