Fairport comeback bid falls short vs. St. John

A never-say-die spirit and do-whatever-it-takes attitude pervaded the air at Fairport’s venerable Grieg Field on Sept. 7, on a night when veterans and active military, many of whom were in attendance, were celebrated for their bravery, heroism and self-sacrifice.

Those attributes extended to the Skippers and visiting St. John, and the result was a hard-fought battle between the two Division VII unbeatens.

Although big plays and big mistakes were made by both teams — and both fought hard to overcome them — a few key miscues and missed opportunities proved costly for Fairport, which saw a late-game rally come up short, 19-14.

Although the valor displayed by both sides was plain to see, the Skippers didn’t put a dent in the scoreboard until 30 seconds remained in the third quarter, after they had fallen behind, 19-0. Junior QB Sammy Shuster tallied on a five-yard run to cap a 62-yard drive after Fairport had gained possession after a fourth-down sack of St. John QB David Cumberledge.

The Skippers’ defense held again on a fourthdown play at their own 31 midway through the fourth and drove to the St. John 25, keyed by a 33-run by senior running back Rayshawn Alston.

This time it was the Heralds’ turn to hold strong defensively, stopping Fairport on a fourth-down play with 5:31 left in the game.

Although things were beginning to look grim for the home team and their faithful at that point, the tide turned quickly. Alston, who is also a safety on defense, closed in on a Herald pass quickly, made the interception in stride and raced down the far sideline to the end zone.

Junior Cody Paugh ran in the two-point conversion, making it 19-14 with 4:36 left.

But St. John recovered the onside kick and were able to run out almost all the remaining time, mostly on a succession of five-yard keepers by Cumberledge. Fairport got the ball back with four seconds left in its own territory for one last desperate try, but a pass down the sideline fell incomplete.

“The kids played tough, and you can’t fault their effort,” Skippers coach Cameron Ruff said. “We had chances where we (could have) folded, but this team is stronger than that. They kept playing.”