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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

After a solid start, Billingsley High School could not keep up with Fayetteville High School in its home opener and fell 44-18 on Aug. 30. The Bears’ offense was able to put together drives early on, but as mistakes mounted, it was Fayetteville who took control in the middle-half of the game with a physical approach.

“They beat us in the box and created turnovers when they needed it,” Billingsley head coach Lanny Jones said. “This game came back to the physical aspect of it, and if you cannot match it, it is a long night for you.”

After an opening score from Fayetteville, Landon Jones tied the game with a rushing touchdown, but the lead was short lived as the ensuing kickoff was returned for a touchdown to restore the visitors’ lead. Landon Jones and the offense were still in sync and tied the game again on their next possession as he found Kyle Boice for a touchdown connection to tie the game at 12-12.

Landon Jones was 9-for-14 passing for 144 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and added 92 yards rushing on 10 carries on the ground. Boice was the leading receiver for Billingsley with five catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.

As the game wore on, Billingsley found it tough to keep their starters on the field due to minor injuries, cramps or other things that took their best players off of the field. Lanny Jones felt like the best option for their defense was to control the clock on offense to keep the ball out of Fayetteville’s hands. However, after the Bears tied the game for the second time, Fayetteville ripped off 32 unanswered points including an interception return for a touchdown as time expired in the first half to swing all momentum into the visitors’ favor.

All of the energy was snatched from Billingsley during the lengthy scoring run, and two turnovers in the red zone were back breakers. The Bears moved the ball well, piling up 437 total yards of offense, 293 of those on the ground, but the mistakes were what derailed them in the end.

Kaden Cotton added a late touchdown run for Billingsley and accounted for 165 rushing yards on 13 carries. Caleb Massey was the leading tackler for the Bears with 10 stops, followed by Landon Jones with eight.

Billingsley (1-1) gets the most important portion of its schedule started on Sept. 6 traveling to Autauga Academy to open Class 1A Region 4 play.

“We are 0-0 where it counts,” Lanny Jones said. “The positive thing is that going forward our big season starts next week.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.