Fairview Captures A Title In 1-2 Showdown
In this article:
Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! On Saturday night in Edmond, we saw the two teams that occupied the top two spots in the Class A rankings all season. #1 Gore and…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingGet 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!
On Saturday night in Edmond, we saw the two teams that occupied the top two spots in the Class A rankings all season. #1 Gore and #2 Fairview would face off in a battle of two teams at 14-0 on the year. And on Saturday night, it was #2 prevailing as the Yellowjackets would take down the Pirates 32-28. The Yellowjackets would take a 32-28 lead with just under seven minutes to play. Gore would go three and out on their next possession. They punted it away and Fairview took over with a little over five minutes to play. They never gave the ball back.
They would take the remaining five minutes, converting on fourth and short to clinch their first state championship since 1999 and their third title in school history. It looked like we were destined to have a shootout between the top two teams in Class A this season. After Gore went three and out on their first possession, Fairview would go on a 13-play drive that ended in a 14-yard touchdown run from Jax Bernard Jax Bernard 5'11" | 170 lbs | QB Fairview | 2025 State OK . Gore didn’t wait long to strike back. 50 seconds later, it was Gunner Dozier Gunner Dozier 6'2" | 195 lbs | RB Gore | 2023 State OK breaking loose for a 54-yard touchdown run.
Dozier was Gore’s workhorse back coming into the title game but he got banged up in the second quarter and would only see limited touches in the second half. Stepping up with Dozier out was quarterback Noah Cooper Noah Cooper 6'2" | 195 lbs | QB Coweta | 2024 OK . The junior QB would put the Pirates up 14-7 late in the first quarter on a 17-yard touchdown run. Fairview tied it up early in the second quarter on a Bernard touchdown pass to Austin Houk Austin Houk 6'2" | 210 lbs | TE Fairview | 2023 State OK . Bernard also added a 19-yard field goal to put the Yellowjackets up 17-14 at halftime.
Special teams miscues hurt both teams throughout the night. Gore would turn the ball over three times while the Yellowjackets finished with two turnovers. Gore took a 21-17 lead early in the third quarter on a Cooper touchdown pass to Wyatt Marrel. The Yellowjackets responded with a touchdown drive that was capped off by a short run from senior running back Blake Perez Blake Perez 6'0" | 190 lbs | RB Fairview | 2023 State OK .
It looked like we were going to have the moment of the game for Gore as they would hold Fairview on a goal line stand in the third quarter. The Yellowjackets had four shots inside the Gore five yard line and came away with no points. Gore would then march 99 yards in 13 plays and take a 28-24 lead with a little over nine minutes remaining. That did not phase the Yellowjackets. They responded with another touchdown run from Perez to take that 32-28 lead with just under seven minutes to play.
After Gore went three and out on their next drive, Fairview took advantage and never gave the ball back. They were sparked by a run by Perez to get deep into Gore territory and then again the senior carried the rock on fourth and short. He would finish with 166 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries. Perez also had a fumble recovery and a big sack on the defensive side of the ball. These two teams had been #1 and #2 since our preseason rankings were released in June. On Saturday night, it was #2 over #1 as the Yellowjackets cap off the perfect season with a gold ball.
Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma for more from Saturday night’s championship game. Game highlights, postgame interviews, top performers and much more ONLY on Prep Redzone Oklahoma. And you can also check out our coverage from the rest of the championship games throughout the weekend in Edmond.