Thursday, October 23, 2008

Fulton and Austin East Rivalry Continues Friday Night at Bob Black Field


The Falcons meet their oldest current rival Friday at Bob Black Field. Fulton and Austin-East will meet for the 41st time in a rivalry that dates back to 1969. The Roadrunners lead the all-time series 23-17, but Fulton has won the last 3 meetings and 6 out of the last 9 games…Fulton’s playoff hopes took a severe hit last week after a 28-3 loss to Catholic. Fulton needs a win Friday and help next week to earn their 16th consecutive playoff berth…Fulton’s offense recorded 4 more first downs last week than Catholic, but was crippled by a season-high 5 turnovers…The 3 points scored by Fulton last week marked the first time since 1990 that the Falcons only mustered a field goal in a game…FHS has been a 2nd half team in 2008. Fulton is outscoring opponents 93-61 in the final 2 quarters…The Falcons have cut down on penalties this year. They average 4.5 penalties for 41.9 yards this year…Fulton will say goodbye to 15 seniors playing their final game on Bob Black Field…Austin-East comes into Friday’s game on a 6-game winning streak after losing their first 2 games of the season…The Roadrunners are tied for 2nd place in region 2-3A with Kingston with 4-1 records…The A-E defense has surrendered a total of 7 points with 3 shutouts in their last 4 games…Friday’s game is the SportsAnimal 99 Game of the Week, and can also be heard live on WKCS 91.1 FM.



Series History

Austin-East is Fulton’s oldest rival on the current schedule, and this rivalry has become known for exciting games. Friday is the 41st meeting between the schools, with A-E holding a 23-17 advantage in the all-time series. The Roadrunners have had good success at Bob Black Field in the past. They have a 12-7 advantage over the Falcons at Fulton. Fulton recorded its first back-to-back victories over A-E since the 1977 and 1978 seasons when they won 34-21 in week 9 of the 2007 season. Fulton has currently won 3 straight over the Roadrunners.

Fulton vs. Austin-East--The Series

• This is the 41st meeting between Fulton and Austin-East.
• A-E leads the all-time series 23-17.
• A-E leads the series in games played at Bob Black Field 12-7.
• The series is tied in games played at Dusty Lennon Stadium 10-10.
• Fulton won the 1st ever-game played in Dusty Lennon Stadium 35-13 over the Roadrunners on September 14, 1973. This was also Fulton’s 1st win in the series.
• Fulton and A-E has played every year since 1973.
• A-E won the 1st ever meeting in 1969 32-20 at Evans-Collins Field.
• Fulton wore black jerseys for the first time in school history in defeating A-E 26-7 at Fulton in 2006.
• Fulton has won all 3 playoff meetings between the teams.
• Fulton won the last playoff meeting 26-6 in 2007 in the 3rd round of the TSSAA playoffs.
• Fulton’s longest wining streak in the series is 6 games (1973-1978).
• A-E’s longest winning streak in the series is 7 games (1991-1997).
• Fulton and East met 8 times from 1951-1961. Fulton leads the series 5-3. East High and Austin High were combined to form Austin-East in the late 1960s.




Last Meeting

The Fulton Falcons completed the season sweep of the Austin-East Roadrunners with a 26-6 victory at Bob Black Field in the 3rd rond of the TSSAA playoffs. The FHS defense turned in another masterful effort, intercepting 5 passes and holding the Roadrunners to 96 total yards.
Derek Humphrey had a career night for Fulton, intercepting 3 A-E passes, and catching 3 passes for 43 yards and a score. Humphrey opened the scoring for the home team by stepping in front of a Mark Montgomery pass and returning it 60 yards for a TD early in the 1st quarter. Humphrey then scored on the offensive end as he hauled in an 8-yard strike from Jonathan Blair to give Fulton a 14-0 lead.
The Falcons gave up their first points of the post season early in the 2nd half when Trey Smith intercepted a deflected Blair pass and returned it 66-yards for A-E’s only score. Fulton quickly regained the momentum on the next possession as Vic Smith got behind the Roadrunner secondary and caught a 61-yard scoring bomb from Blair. Terrence Cobb closed out the scoring for Fulton with a 49-yard run mid-way through the 3rd quarter. Cobb posted another strong effort versus A-E, rushing 22 times for 157 yards.
The Falcon defense sacked A-E quarterbacks 4 times in the game, and limited the Roadrunners to converting only 1 of 12 third and fourth down conversions. Penalties were again a concern for Fulton. The Falcons were penalized 14 times for 128 yards.

2008 Roadrunner Schedule (6-2)

Date Opponent Result
8/29 @Webb L, 19-6
9/5 @Catholic L, 21-12
9/12 @Carter W, 20-13
9/19 Scott W, 26-19
9/26 @Brainerd W, 34-0
10/3 Livingston Acad. W, 14-0
10/10 @Anderson Co. W, 12-7
10/17 Stone Memorial W, 54-0




Austin-East Twins Attracting Recruiters (KNS Article):

Twins, the sons of former Tennessee basketball player Rob Jones (1982-86). The two seniors from Austin-East returned to football this season after playing as freshmen and have instantly become sought-after recruits. They're also nightmarish matchups for opponents. Chance makes receivers pay when coming across the middle. Chase breaks up passes the average safety can't. And despite their hiatus, the Jones twins had no problem getting physical fast.

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