Playoffs: Feisty defense lifts Wildcats past Pirates

After a rough final month of the regular season, the Enterprise Wildcats (8-3) defense stood tall and dominated one of the top rushing offenses in the state as Enterprise trounced the Fairhope Pirates (9-2) by the score of 35-10 in the opening round of the Class 7A State Playoffs.

Enterprise held Fairhope’s offense to just 281 yards with 72 of those yards coming on one play. Fairhope’s offense, which was ranked No. 4 in the state coming into the game, mustered a season-low 148 yards on the ground against Enterprise. The Wildcats also forced two turnovers.

“Coach (Jed Kennedy) and those guys (on defense) had a great plan and the kids had great execution,” Enterprise coach Rick Darlington said after the win. “I can’t say enough about the scout (offense) running their difficult offense to simulate, too.

“As Coach (Kenedy) says, the defensive coaches made them believe and the kids went out there and executed the plan. They’ve been getting better. They had a couple of rough weeks but it was worth it. They stopped a heck of an offense tonight.”

Enterprise set the tone early as running back Amare Griffin grabbed an onside kick out of the air to open the game. Then, the Wildcats marched down the field in five plays as Mykel Johnson cashed in a 1-yard touchdown run to put Enterprise ahead 7-0 with 8:40 left in the opening period.

Fairhope answered by driving into Enterprise territory before the Wildcat defense stiffened forcing a field goal attempt. Fairhope kicker Luke Free drilled a 38-yard field goal with 4:14 left in the first quarter to cut the Enterprise lead to 7-3.

The Wildcats then marched down the field on an 18-play drive that took the game into the second quarter. Griffin capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to extend the Enterprise lead to 14-3 with 5:39 left in the first half.

Fairhope drove into Enterprise territory on its next drive before Wildcat defensive end Xavier Moore forced a fumble that Aiden White recovered. Johnson then weaved his way through the Pirate defense for a 60-yard touchdown run with 2:48 left in the first half as Enterprise took a 21-3 lead.

Fairhope drove back into Enterprise territory but again had to settle for a field goal attempt. This time, though, Fairhope’s holder bobbled the snap and as he scrambled to try and heave a desperation throw, Enterprise linebacker Brison Chatman sacked him to force a turnover on downs.

The Wildcats then pulled a bit of trickery as quarterback Quentin Hayes threw a backwards pass to Johnson, who then heaved a 66-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Zy’Air Boyd. The PAT extended the Wildcat lead to 28-3 with 1:17 left in the half.

Fairhope again drove into Enterprise territory and attempted a 45-yard field goal as time expired in the half that came up short. Enterprise took the 28-3 lead into halftime.

Enterprise drove into Fairhope territory to open the second half but a Johnson third down pass was intercepted. Fairhope drove into Enterprise territory again but a brutal hit from cornerback Keondre Matthews forced another Pirate fumble, which linebacker Marzavious Reed recovered ending another Fairhope drive.

The two sides exchanged punts but then Fairhope finally got back on the scoreboard when running back Glenn Patrick took a screen pass 72 yards for a touchdown to cut Enterprise’s lead to 28-10 with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Wildcats answered right back, however, as Boyd raced 58 yards for another touchdown to extend the Enterprise lead right back to 35-10 with just one second remaining in the period.

The Wildcats spent the majority of the fourth quarter running clock, while the Enterprise defense forced two three-and-outs and allowed just five total yards in three Fairhope drives in the period.

“I’m real proud of them,” Darlington said. “All three sides of the ball played great tonight.

“Defensively, we only really gave up the one play on that screen. It was a really special thing the defense did tonight. Offensively, we did enough to win. We kept the ball and hit some big plays on them. It was a fun night for us. Playoff wins are hard to come by in (Class) 7A.”

Those wins will get even harder moving forward as Enterprise must now travel to Auburn for the second time in three weeks for the second round of the playoffs. It’s the first time Enterprise has returned to the second round since 2016.

“They’re the only team that beat us by double digits,” Darlington said of Auburn. “They’re really good but we’d like to get another chance (at them). We’re just glad to get to keep playing no matter who it is, though.”

Johnson led the Enterprise offense with 136 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, while he also completed 1-of-2 pass attempts for 66 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He also had one reception for 13 yards. Griffin added 77 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He also caught a pass for 16 yards. Hayes completed all four of his pass attempts for 52 yards and rushed for 30 yards on three carries. Boyd rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on two carries, while he also caught one pass for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Safety Eric Winters led the Enterprise defense with seven tackles and a tackle-for-loss, while Marzavious Reed totaled six tackles and a fumble recovery. Brison Chatman also earned six tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a sack.