By MONTE DUTTON

There’s nothing cold as ashes after the fire is gone. – L.E. White

It was probably the highest attendance at Wilder Stadium all season, around 4,000. All systems were go until Clinton lit the candle, and it was a dud. Fairfield Central (10-3) dominated Clinton from start to finish, eliminating the Red Devils, 42-7, from the Class 2A football playoffs in the quarterfinal round on Friday night.

All the numbers, especially comparative scores, suggested a close game.

They were wrong.

What was right was that the key to defeating Clinton (9-4) was slowing them down, not to mention stopping them dead. Only once have the Red Devils won back-to-back state championships (1977-78).

Not this year. Fairfield Central travels to Johnston to play Strom Thurmond (11-2), and former Clinton head coach Andrew Webb, for the Upstate title next week.

The Griffins shredded the Clinton defense and, more surprisingly, contained the Red Devil rushers.

“They gave us problems up front all night,” Clinton head coach Corey Fountain said. “Fairfield did a good job all making us uncomfortable. They put us in some bad spots, and we made some mistakes early on.

“When we got in the game, we started shooting ourselves in the foot. We gave them things they shouldn’t have gotten. In the second half, we buckled down, and I thought we played really good defense. We couldn’t stop the big play. That’s where we were vulnerable.”

It could have been worse. Fairfield Central led, 28-0, at halftime. After falling to the Red Devils, 32-21, in last year’s Upstate finals, the Griffins were not of a mind to negotiate terms.

Javen Cook, who completed his senior season with 1,828 yards and 35 touchdowns – one was on a catch – carried the ball 17 times for 51 yards. In the season’s first 12 games, he averaged 11.5 yards a carry. In the last, he averaged 3.0.

There was no quit in “Zoom,” however, or for that matter, any of his teammates. Cook spent most of the night caught in a Fairfield trap. The best example was the Red Devils’ lone touchdown.

Pinned in on the right sideline, Cook whirled and cut, lowered his shoulders and fought back, trying to free himself from three Griffins defenders. Flailing till the end, as he fell, Cook fumbled. Teammate Chris Boyd scooped it up and dashed into the end zone.

Cook took care of the first 27 yards. Boyd handled the last 18.

It happened with 6:23 remaining in the third quarter. Pablo Hernandez’s extra point narrowed Fairfield Central’s lead to 35-7. Clinton (9-4) saw a lot of streaks end: consecutive victories at seven, victories in a row against Class 2A opposition at 21, seasons with double-digit wins at four and playoff victories at six.

Fairfield fulfilled all expectations. The Griffins outrushed the Red Devils, 205-107; outpassed them, 221-10; and amassed 20 first downs to Clinton’s eight.

Kaden Diggs, the Fairfield quarterback, was splendid. He netted 99 yards on the ground, with a touchdown, and completed 8/11 passes for 221 yards and four scores.

Ty’Quarius Shannon caught four of those completions and scored three of those touchdown on plays of 68, 14 and 27 yards. Yet the most surprising aspect of the victory wasn’t the Griffins’ ability to put up points. It was its defense’s ability to frustrate and contain the Clinton running game.

When the game began, the Red Devils averaged 9.5 yards a carry as a team. The Griffins limited them to 3.8.

“Great Fairfield team, well coached. (Head coach) Demetrius Davis does a great job,” said Fountain. “We came out undisciplined, had too many penalties. We weren’t as physical as we needed to be.

“That all falls on me. I’ve got to have them better prepared and ready to play in the first half, and we didn’t seem to be. … It’s frustrating.”

Fountain, standing on a makeshift battleground after catastrophic defeat, was already looking forward while looking back.

“Looking back at this week, at how you practiced, how seriously you take each and every practice. Being disciplined in every practice. Giving it everything you’ve got in practice carries over into games. I want these guys to understand you’ve got to be hungry,” he said. “You’ve got to play with intensity at all times. I want this to leave a bad taste in their mouths.

“Nobody wants to lose the last game.”

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