What started out as an exciting back and forth game between the Fairhope Pirates and the Central-Phenix City Red Devils became a slow energy drain from the fully charged crowd. 

Aided by a touchdown after the game was decided, the Red Devils pulled off a 34-15 victory. 

The only other matchups between the two schools were also playoff games in 2019 and 2020. The results were just as disappointing for the Pirates, though this game came in the second round as opposed to the first. 

Fairhope started off strong with a 57-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Bryon Martin. A successful two-point conversion later, and the Pirates were up 8-0 in the first couple minutes of the game. 

Disaster struck when Fairhope tried to keep the momentum rolling. An onside kick was recovered by the Red Devils and returned for a touchdown. Central cut the lead to 8-7 and only ran off 11 seconds doing it. A little later, a 38-yard pass to Red Devils wide receiver Tristan Lyles set up a successful field goal attempt, and Central had a 10-8 lead and all the momentum. 

Trey Garner showed trust on a 22-yard touchdown pass to Andres Hunt, who snatched the ball from the arms of a Red Devils’ defender. The Pirates retook the lead 15-10, but it would be the last time the cannons fired. 

Fairhope head coach Tim Carter said he was proud of the passing game early on given the opponent’s pass rush. 

“We didn’t quite get as many points as we would like,” Carter said. “But our receivers made a couple of really good moves that made them bigger gains so that was really good early.” 

Central wide receiver Mike Bass would cause the final lead change of the game with a 4-yard touchdown catch. The ball was snapped at quarterback Bobby Coleman’s feet, but turning mistakes into gain would be a Red Devils theme throughout the rest of the game. 

Central linebacker Brennan Core would recover a fumble to set up a 26-yard touchdown catch from Braylen Averett. A field goal in the closing seconds of the first half would set the score at 27-15. 

The second half was dominated by defense. Only one play was notable before the final minutes. 

Defensive tackle Elijah Stevens intercepted a pass from a still-hopeful Fairhope. Stevens basically dragged the Pirates’ offense down inside the 5-yard line before fumbling, which turned a 2nd-and-long from the Fairhope 43-yard line into a fresh set of downs at the 4-yard line. 

A series of punts slowly whittled at the stands of W.C Majors Field crowd. Core flipped possession once more, this time with an interception, which was followed by a final touchdown run from near-midfield by running back Jayshaun Woodhouse. 

With a 34-15 deficit and only 1:42 left in the game, Fairhope meandered the clock away to end the game and their season. The Pirates finished the 2025 season 8-4 which was the most wins for the program since 2022. 

“We’ve always had good tradition.” Carter said. “We don’t recruit and we don’t do things that a lot of other schools do. We play with who we got, so we’ll ride a roller coaster. Some years we’ll be good and some years we might be a little bit down. Our kids always play hard, we got great community support, I’m really proud of the way our fans came out tonight, and I’m excited about the future of Fairhope football.” 

Central will move on to face Thompson on Nov. 21 in the semifinals of the 7A playoffs.