Fairhope Team of the Week: Garner’s Late TD Pass to Woodford Clinches Region Crown Over Daphne

FAIRHOPE, Ala. — With three seconds left on the clock and a region championship on the line, Fairhope quarterback Trey Garner found Hayden Woodford for a 15-yard touchdown that beat rival Daphne 27-24, and the dramatic finish has made the Pirates the Fairhope Team of the Week. The award, sponsored by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, caps a night that also delivered the Class 6A, Region 1 title, the region’s No. 1 playoff seed and another year with the Jubilee Cup.

Head coach Caleb Ross, his assistants and the players accepted the Team of the Week banner Wednesday before practice, as the Pirates turned their attention to a final regular-season test against Class 4A’s top-ranked team.

The Friday, Oct. 23, victory at Daphne lifted Fairhope to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in region play. The Pirates have won two straight and seven of their past eight games heading into the postseason.

How Fairhope won the Team of the Week honor

The last week of region play carried high stakes across Mobile and Baldwin counties. All 35 area teams played a region game, and several playoff berths and seeds were decided. None of those games carried more weight than the matchup between the Pirates and Trojans, which decided the Class 6A, Region 1 championship.

Daphne entered the night unbeaten in the region at 5-0, while Fairhope was 4-1, meaning the winner would take the crown. The game swung back and forth throughout. The Pirates struck first when senior Gus Faulkner intercepted a pass on Daphne’s opening drive and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown. Faulkner later picked off a second pass that set up a Fairhope field goal.

Daphne answered and, with about five minutes to play, threw a touchdown pass of its own to move in front 24-20. That set the stage for the drive that will be remembered on the Eastern Shore for years.

An 85-yard drive with the title on the line

Garner led the Pirates 85 yards in 12 plays. Twice on the drive, Fairhope faced long fourth downs — a fourth-and-10 and a fourth-and-15 — and twice it kept the march alive. The final strike came from 15 yards out, when Garner hit Woodford in the end zone with three seconds showing.

Ross said those moments will serve his team well in the weeks ahead.

“We had some kids have some really big moments,” Ross said. “We converted two fourth downs — we had a fourth and 10 and a fourth and 15 on the last drive that we converted. You can’t replicate that. So anytime that you’re in that moment, cause if you’re going to make a run in the playoffs, a game’s going to come down to the wire. It just always does. So you hope your kids can rely on the experience of, hey, we’ve made this play before; we can go make it again. So when it’s under the lights and the game’s on the line, it gives you confidence.”

He added that the experience against a strong opponent is exactly what a playoff team needs.

“It gives you experience. Every team in the playoffs is going to be good, and Daphne is a really high-quality opponent,” Ross said. “So if you’re going to make a run in the playoffs, you’re going to play a lot of high-quality opponents.”

A rivalry that means more than bragging rights

Fairhope and Daphne, neighbors along the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, play each year for the Jubilee Cup, a trophy that shares its name with the Eastern Shore’s famous summer phenomenon, when fish, crabs and shrimp crowd the shallows along the bay’s edge. Friday’s win kept the cup in Fairhope for a second consecutive season.

Daphne still holds a 26-12 lead in the all-time series, but the recent history belongs to the Pirates. Friday’s victory was Fairhope’s second straight over the Trojans and its seventh in the past 10 meetings.

Ross, in his first season leading the program, said he knew the rivalry was important but did not fully grasp how much it meant to his players until the final whistle.

“First of all, it was a rival game, so that’s a big deal here,” Ross said. “Any time it’s a rival game, it’s a big game, and I’ll be honest, I knew it was a big deal here, but I didn’t realize how much it meant to our kids until after the game, just the emotion of winning the game. And it was a very back-and-forth, very emotional win.”

He said his staff deliberately avoided building the game up during the week.

“We don’t try to make it any more hype or any more serious or bigger than the moment should be,” Ross said. “We don’t ever say this is a rival game. [Or saying] you’re going to play harder this week than you have all year. That, to me, it’s just not how you do it because everybody in the community is telling them how big the game is. … I don’t want them playing scared or playing having a fear of failure. So they did a good job of staying focused, staying the course. But when we won, the amount of emotion, I was like, OK, this game means a lot to these kids.”

First region title since 2021

The championship is Fairhope’s first region title since 2021, and it came in Ross’ debut season. Ross took over this year after Tim Carter, who led the Pirates for 11 seasons, retired from coaching.

Ross arrived with a strong résumé. He coached McGill-Toolen from 2014 to 2016, going 30-8 and leading the Yellow Jackets to the Class 7A state championship during a 13-1 season in 2015. He later coached Opelika for a season, reaching the third round of the playoffs, and spent three years at Prattville, where his teams made the playoffs every year. He then worked on the Troy University football staff from 2021 to 2024 and spent about a year at the Alabama High School Athletic Association office in Montgomery before taking the Fairhope job.

The season has not been without bumps. Fairhope opened with a road loss at Pace, Fla., then reeled off five straight wins and climbed into the Class 6A top 10. Baker snapped that streak with a 31-21 win in Fairhope on Oct. 8, a game moved up a day because of Hurricane Isaias. The Pirates have not lost since.

What the No. 1 seed means this year

Winning Region 1 comes with the region’s top seed in the Class 6A playoffs. This season that seed carries an extra reward. Class 6A expanded the number of teams eligible for postseason play, and as a result the top seeds receive a first-round bye.

Daphne, which finished second in the region, takes the No. 2 seed into the playoffs.

For Fairhope, the bye means the Pirates will sit out the first week of the postseason and open play in the second round on Friday, Nov. 13. As the top seed, they are set to host that game.

The road for every contender ends close to home this season. All of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s football state championship games are scheduled for Dec. 1-5 at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus in Mobile.

One more test: No. 1 Vigor comes to Fairhope

Before the bye week, Fairhope closes the regular season at home Friday, Oct. 30, against Vigor. The Wolves are ranked No. 1 in Class 4A in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll and clinched the top seed in Class 4A, Region 1 last week.

The game does not count in the region standings, so it will not change Fairhope’s seeding. Ross said facing a team like Vigor cuts both ways. On one hand, the Wolves give the Pirates another quality opponent to measure themselves against before the playoffs begin. On the other, Vigor is a very physical team, and that physicality can leave an opponent with extra bumps and bruises.

That is where the bye becomes a luxury. The week off gives Fairhope’s players extra time to heal before the second round.

Players who carried the Pirates

Garner, a senior, returned this season after leading Fairhope to the second round of the playoffs a year ago. He has spent the fall learning a new offensive system under Ross and building chemistry with a largely new group of receivers, and the final drive against Daphne showed how far that work has come.

Woodford came up with the biggest catch of the season. Faulkner, a Tulane commitment, set the tone on defense with his two interceptions and the 97-yard return, a performance that also earned him a separate Player of the Week honor.

Running back Nic Ronsisvalle has been a steady part of the offense all season, with 14 rushing touchdowns through the Pirates’ first seven games.

About the Team of the Week award

The Team of the Week award is presented each week of the high school football season to a team from the Mobile and Baldwin County area, with support from the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. Earlier this month, Baker earned the honor after its win at Fairhope. This week, the Pirates turned the tables.

The 35 high school football teams in the two-county area spent the regular season chasing playoff spots, and the last week of region games settled most of the races. For Fairhope, the reward was a banner, a trophy that stays home, a top seed and a week of rest before the real chase begins.

• Result: Fairhope 27, Daphne 24 (Friday, Oct. 23)
• Records: Fairhope 7-2 overall, 5-1 in Class 6A, Region 1
• Next game: Vigor at Fairhope, Friday, Oct. 30
• Playoffs: First-round bye; second-round home game Friday, Nov. 13
• Award sponsor: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office