Courtesy of Cullman Times
The game plan for Etowah was simple yet effective against Fairview on Friday.
Even though the Aggies knew what was coming, they were powerless to stop in a 40-20 Class 5A, Region 7 loss.
The Blue Devils (3-2, 3-0) ran 43 times for 532 yards. Fairview finished with a net total of 425 yards on offense.
Etowah junior running back Paul Ruiz rushed for 288 yards and five touchdowns on 15 carries. He scored three third-quarter touchdowns on runs of 35, 25 and 45 yards to give the Blue Devils a commanding 40-7 lead.
Sophomore running back Stacy Williams was tough to tackle as well, rushing for 166 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Etowah’s offense was a simple mix of toss sweeps to Ruiz and straight handoffs to Williams.
The Aggies (1-3, 0-3) trailed 13-0 in the first quarter after a 40-yard touchdown run by Ruiz on the game’s opening drive, and a 12-yard Ruiz scoring run after Fairview fumbled deep in its own territory.
Fairview responded with a six-play, 79-yard scoring drive, capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run by Austin Harris. After an Etowah punt, the Aggies were poised to take the lead when quarterback Hayden Maples completed a 49-yard pass to Samuel Woods down to the 6-yard line. But a sack followed by a false start penalty led to an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal from the 20.
Three plays later, Williams raced around the left side of the Fairview defense for a 57-yard touchdown, putting Etowah on top 20-7 with 8:25 left in the second quarter.
After a bye week, Etowah continues region play on Oct. 3 at home against Guntersville.
