Fairview had two undefeated school football teams going into last week, and both faced what looked like their hardest games of the year.

The Fairview Middle School Falcons traveled to Sunset Middle School on Thursday evening. It was not expected to be an easy win.

The Fairview High School Yellow Jackets hosted Stewart County for homecoming on Friday. Two of Stewart County's coaches previously coached at Fairview High, and they came looking to spoil the celebration.

How homecoming went

Fairview High won 40-9, opening Region 6-3A play and moving to 5-0. The Yellow Jackets are ranked eighth in the latest TSWA Class 3A statewide poll.

The build-up ran long before kickoff. Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Hughes, a Fairview alumnus, delivered the game ball by helicopter, and Gov. Bill Lee took part in the coin toss. The class of 1986 was honored, and seven new members went into the school's Hall of Fame: Mike Mangrum and Wanda Bledsoe in basketball, Richard Branch in football, coach Curtis Putnam, Shelby Hoppe in softball, supporter Dion Goodwin, and the 1991 baseball team. The Bobby Green Memorial was unveiled at the stadium before the 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Stewart County led first

The visitors scored inside three minutes, Anthony Bisogno finding Colt Lafargue from 11 yards. Fairview answered with an eight-play drive that Kentrell Harrison finished from a yard out, and the extra point made it 7-6.

From there the first quarter got away from Stewart County. A fumble near the goal line turned into a Fairview touchdown when Emmett Sutton fell on the ball in the end zone. The Yellow Jackets recovered the onside kick and scored again within seconds, Issac Burgos finding Lincoln Kelley for 49 yards down the right sideline. It was 20-6 after one quarter.

A 44-yard field goal was all Stewart County managed in the second. Fairview closed the half with a 13-play drive, Burgos hitting Kelley for 24 yards on 4th-and-11 to lead 27-9. Sutton scored from 19 yards in the third and Julius Carter added an 11-yard run, which put the game on a running clock for the fourth.

How they did it

Fairview rushed for 253 yards. Carter had 104 of them and a touchdown on 12 carries, and Harrison kept converting in short yardage. Burgos went 6-of-8 for 123 yards and two scores, and Kelley caught four passes for 98 yards.

The defense recovered two fumbles and twice stopped Stewart County on fourth down at the 1-yard line. Through five games Fairview has outscored opponents 136-63, and Class 5A Centennial remains the only team to score more than one touchdown against them.

Coach Chris Hughes credited the defense for repeatedly bailing out the offense, and said the team played with energy that suited the occasion. Players pointed to the extra week of preparation before their first region game, and Kelley noted that younger players in the program are getting real experience.