Sure, Fort Campbell might’ve lost the football game in lopsided fashion Friday night at War Memorial Stadium: 50-7 against those vaunted Class 2A, District I Cardinals.
But a pregame ceremony and gift from the Falcons to all of Mayfield’s players, coaches, cheerleaders and associated staff — red toboggans with white words reading “Mayfield Strong” — simply paints a different picture.
Because for a brief moment, the X’s and O’s weren’t Jimmies and Joes, but hugs and handshakes from one community to another following a spell with devastation. Approaching the first anniversary, Graves County was one of many in west Kentucky experiencing the full wrath of inclement weather on December 10, 2021, when an EF-4 tornado spinning nearly 200 continuous miles from Cayce onward did too much to count.
Everything in its path, including Mayfield’s quaint and peculiar downtown, was carelessly tossed more than 25,000 feet into the sky.
Amy Gammons, Mayfield High School Class of 1983 and long-time Fort Campbell math teacher and former boys basketball coach, arrived at first light Saturday, December 11, to check on her family.
It was she and the Falcons football team who collaborated to help make Friday night’s exchange happen.
On the gridiron, unfortunately, things didn’t fall the Falcons’ way.
Fort Campbell quarterback Darin Frederick led a promising opening drive that stalled at midfield, and Mayfield would cap its first drive with a 10-yard rushing score from Mehki Dumas.
By the end of the first frame, the Cardinals held a 24-0 lead — a tough stretch for Fort Campbell which included a safety surrendered. On the Falcons’ third drive of the game, Frederick brilliantly escaped third-and-long and found a slant middle route for Maurice Morris good for more than 45 yards. Mayfield’s Brajone Dabney, however, would snag the first of two interceptions on a leaping theft deep in the endzone.
The Cardinals were facing third-and-6 as the opening quarter was closing, before quarterback Zane Cartwright found Isaac Stevenson wide open for a near 70-yard gain. Dabney got the paydirt carry to make it 23-0 at the 0:00 mark.
Dabney’s second INT came in the middle of the second quarter, when the Falcons had third-and-1 and took a gamble in 1-on-1 coverage. Cartwright, who finished the evening 10-for-13 with more than 220 yards passing, found Ben Hite for his second receiving touchdown and a 36-0 running-clock-inducing lead.
First-year, but familiar, Falcons coach Henry Mitchell noted it was a “lay down” kind of effort — and that his team was “better than what they showed.”
The game well in hand, Mayfield coach Joe Morris rolled in several younger starters to begin the second half, and Fort Campbell found a little more success in execution.
On the second play after halftime, linebacker Keshawn Dixon is believed to have been the culprit of a powerful fumble. Helmets clacked, and the loose football was returned by Jalyel Welch for a 37-yard touchdown to keep Fort Campbell’s scoring streak alive for this season.
That ensuing Mayfield drive, however, saw backup quarterback Malik Kirby keep a designed option run for a 58-yard score down the left sideline, and a 49-7 spread with more than 16 minutes left in regulation.
One of the more interesting successes from Fort Campbell Friday was its direct pressure on Mayfield’s PAT unit. The Falcons blocked not one, but two point after attempts from Lincoln Suiter.
The last time Fort Campbell beat Mayfield: August 30, 2008 at Marshall County. The Falcons won 50-7, and went on to win the second of three consecutive state titles (2007, 2008, 2009). Since then, the Cardinals have won eight straight against their long-time rivals — yielding just 41 points in the span.
MAYFIELD 50, FORT CAMPBELL 7
Falcons (2-4) 0 0 7 0 — 7
Cardinals (6-0) 24 20 6 0 — 50
SCORING
MAY: Mehki Dumas 10 rush (Lincoln Suiter PAT), 7:45 1Q, 7-0
MAY: Safety, 6:17 1Q, 9-0
MAY: Caden Morris 2 rush (Ian Williams rush), 3:04 1Q, 17-0
MAY: Brajone Dabney 5 rush (Suiter PAT), 0:00 1Q, 24-0
MAY: Ben Hite 15 pass from Zane Cartwright (PAT blocked), 9:33 2Q, 30-0
MAY: Ben Hite 7 pass from Zane Cartwirght (Suiter PAT), 5:51 2Q, 37-0
MAY: Caden Morris 2 rush (Suiter PAT), 1:09 2Q, 44-0
FC: Jalyel Welch 37-yard fumble recovery (Kaiden Verdone PAT), 10:02 3Q, 44-7
MAY: Malik Kirby 58 rush (PAT blocked), 4:02 3Q, 50-7
STATISTICS
PASSING LEADERS
FC: Darin Frederick 6-13-84-2-0. MAY: Zane Cartwright 10-13-224-0-2.
RUSHING LEADERS
FC: Keshawn Dixon 9-4. MAY: Mehki Dumas 6-60-1, Malik Kirby 4-51-1, Caden Morris 6-26-2, Brajone Dabney 1-5-1.
RECEIVING LEADERS
FC: Maurice Moore 2-54, Jontae Al-Muid 1-15, Amari Waddy 1-7, Jayden Swann 1-6, Keshawn Dixon 1-2. MAY: Isaac Stevenson 4-114, Ben Hite 3-39-2, Gavin Jackson 2-47, Brajone Dabney 1-24, Diego Torres 1-8.
TOTALS
FC MAY
First Downs 5 17
Rushes/Yards 21-(-21) 23-166
Passing Yards 84 232
Total Yards 63 398
Punts 3 (29.6) 1 (36.0)
Fumbles 2 1
Lost 0 1
Penalties/Yards 5/37 4/35
