No. 7 Fairfield’s Rushing Attack Too Much for Rusk

[By Ben Rikard, Special to ETSN.fm]

FAIRFIELD -- Fairfield rushed for 392 yards and seven touchdowns in opening up District 19-3A play with a convincing 61-0 win over Rusk on Friday night at Eagle Field.

Fairfield (7-0, 1-0), who entered the game ranked No. 7 in the latest Associated Press Class 3A poll, did not have a first down on either of its first two series, but scored touchdowns on nine of its next 11 possessions and eclipsed the 50-point mark for the sixth time in seven tries this season. Fairfield finished with 581 yards of total offense on the night.

Larry Rose led Fairfield with 203 yards on just 12 carries, pushing his season total to 23 rushing touchdowns with five on the night, including bursts of 64 and 89 yards. He was 1 of 3 Fairfield backs to reach the end zone, while quarterback Jacob Gallegos also accounted for 238 yards of offense on his own, including a pair of touchdown passes.

Rusk (2-4, 0-1) managed just 199 yards of offense, but did get 114 yards on just 10 carries from Isiah Francis, and another 58 yards on 13 rushes from D.J. Glenn. Still, Rusk hurt itself with four turnovers, all leading to Fairfield touchdowns.

Fairfield used a Rusk fumble to set up a short field and marched 44 yards on just five plays on its third possession, a drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown rush from Rose.

Rose struck again on the third play of the second quarter with a 64-yard dash up the middle, and Fairfield followed that with a two-yard Rose score and an eight-yard connection from Gallegos to Cameron Hicks on the next two possessions to take a comfortable 27-0 lead into the half.

Fairfield kept it on the ground in the second half, passing just three times and rushing for 256 yards after halftime and needing just seven plays in the third quarter to punch in three more touchdowns. Fairfield added touchdowns from Dominic Brackens and Charles Oliver in the fourth quarter to close out the 61-0 decision.

Each team will continue district play next week with Fairfield traveling to Groesbeck and Rusk returning home to host Palestine.