No. 1 Red Devils beat No. 6 Tigers for 6th state title

Brodie Hicks rushed for a 2A state final-record five touchdowns behind 235 yards on 45 carries, garnering MVP honors and helping propel Fyffe to a 40-28 victory against the B.B. Comer Tigers and cap the season with another 15-0 record finish.

“We don’t like to smile until the season’s over a lot of times,” Benefield said after the game.

Fyffe advanced to the AHSAA Super 7 for the seventh time in nine years under the leadership of 2023 Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame inductee Benefield. In their previous trip to Auburn in 2019, the Red Devils earned a 56-7 victory against Reeltown — the second of three consecutive 15-0 seasons and state championships. Fyffe has won state titles in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

There was a big question for spectators entering Friday’s state final: how would the Red Devils fare without the services of outstanding sophomore running back Logan Anderson? — Anderson suffered a season-ending leg injury early in last week’s semifinal-round win against Pisgah and has accounted for the bulk of the team’s rushing yards this season.

The answer: just fine with a heavy dose of Hicks. The senior rushed for three first-half touchdowns, as the Red Devils took a 26-16 halftime lead.

“It’s not fun, but you have to suck it up and do it,” Hicks said of playing his part in Fyffe’s run-heavy offense.

Fyffe scored touchdowns on four of the Tigers’ first-half mistakes. Evan Chandler recovered a B.B. Comer fumble inside the final 2 minutes of the first quarter and Hicks rushed in for a 6-yard scoring run to give the Red Devils a 14-8 lead. Hunter Machen recovered the ensuing kickoff and Hicks plunged across the goal line from 1 yard out with 53 seconds to play.

With 5 minutes left in the half, Brody Blackwell collected a B.B. Comer fumble, but the Tigers’ defense stopped Fyffe on an ensuing fourth-and-goal play.

Simon Hicks intercepted a B.B. Comer pass with 1:32 to play, and Brodie Hicks capped the drive with a 2-yard scoring run up the middle.

Brodie Hicks scored his fourth rushing TD with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter to boost the Red Devils’ advantage to 33-16 and ran for his Super 7-record fifth rushing score with 3:57 left in regulation to put the game out of reach.

“These smiles on these kids…” Benefield said after the game, “they’re here because of their hard work.”

Fyffe finished with 335 yards of offense to 314 for B.B. Comer. Kamore Harris led the Tigers in rushing with 182 yards on 20 carries with two scores.