“Liberty wins the Bird Bowl…” “Congrats to LHS!” is all FHS students have heard for the past 21 years. Suffering loss year after year, whether it be in close games or blowouts, the Bird Bowl hasn’t given the results that the FHS Football Program and students wanted in two long decades.
But finally, working from endzone to endzone and touchdown after touchdown, MVP Junior Amari Martin and his offense paved the way for the defense to keep holding the Eagles off until the 4th quarter timer reached zero. Martin commented on the win, saying, “Pretty good. Felt pretty good beating them after 21 years.” He praised his offense and defense, saying that everyone had done their part to bring the trophy home.
Senior Eli Bynaker not only helped bring home the strong win against the Eagles but already recorded his first touchdown of the season. Overall, the game felt great, but Bynaker believes constantly working hard is the key to continuing on a winning streak. He commented, “I mean we ran the ball well, we threw it well, but there’s always something to work on.”
Football isn’t just about the offense though, and Fauquier’s defense really made sure the fans knew that. Standout, Clayton Harris compliments the defense, commenting, “The defensive performance was pretty good, we started off not really containing the run from the quarterback, but ended up containing him and held [Liberty] to not very many points.” Harris is also confident about what’s to come, believing that Fauquier will be able to bring home more wins throughout the season.
New Head Coach Donnie Downs has brought a lot of promise to the FHS Football program, and with the Bird Bowl win to kick the season off, students and fans alike are excited to see what the rest of the 2024 season has to offer. Downs states, “I just think that [the win v.s. Liberty] is huge for this community. It’s a good group of kids, it means a lot to these athletes, and to the people that have come before them. To beat your rival any time is awesome but after such a long time without beating them to finally get one is huge, and hopefully that gives us momentum.” Downs is excited to see where the season goes and is ready for whatever challenges come the way of the Falcons.
