By Stan Caldwell/Sports Writer

WIGGINS — Stone High looked right at home in its new digs, making a splashy debut at its brand-new stadium on the school’s new campus off US 49.

The Tomcats raced out to a 24-0 halftime lead, and weathered a second-half comeback on the part of George County to defeat the Rebels 34-21 Friday night at Tomcat Field.

Coming off a bye week, Stone improved to 2-2 overall, while George County heads into its bye week at 2-3.

“Sometimes, in high school football, momentum is everything, and I thought we jumped out on them early,” said Stone head coach Jacob Aycock. “I thought our kids played really hard, and they fed off the crowd, and that momentum early was big for us.”

The Tomcats unleashed a devastating ground game, churning out 389 rushing yards, with three players surpassing 100 yards. Junior quarterback Zander Howard led the parade with 147 yards on 16 carries, and he was 7 of 7 passing for 47 yards.

“Our quarterback played through the soccer season, and after that was over, his goal was to put on some weight and run the ball for us, to get those tough yards,” said Aycock. “He gained around 25 pounds and it shows in the way he runs the ball.”

But the star of the show for Stone was junior Amarion Fairley, who ran for 139 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns. Junior Ayden Green added 109 yards on 14 rushes and he added another score on the ground.

Fairley set the tone for the night on the Tomcats’ second possession of the game, blasting off right guard for an 11-yard touchdown run after junior Kyler McDonald recovered a Rebel fumble at the George County 12-yard-line.

“It was a great game for us, my first game back after getting hurt,” said Fairley. “I was real hungry to be back on the field to play as hard as I can for my teammates.

“That first run, I was just ready. My o-line blocked so well, and opened the holes. I appreciate them so much.”

For George County, the first half was a nightmare of turnovers and ineffectual offense.

Both teams went three-and-out on their opening possessions, but the Rebels’ second possession started after senior Braylon Fairley was corralled at the 1-yard-line after a 52-yard punt off the foot of Tomcat senior kicker Ren Hendrix.

“We just weren’t ready to play,” said George County coach Kelly Causey. “For whatever reason, we weren’t ready in the first half, and we couldn’t get out of the rut.

“I challenged the kids at half, and I thought we responded. That’s all I could ask of them, and I thought they did a good job. We just didn’t quite make the plays we needed to make.”

After Stone’s opening score, a fumbled pitchout resulted in a 15-yard loss for George County, and after a short punt, the Tomcats needed just two plays to go 52 yards, the bulk of that coming on a 45-yard dash down the left sideline by Fairley for his second touchdown.

After another Rebel punt, Stone drove 83 yards on seven plays, the last 50 coming on a burst off left guard by Green for a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

“We didn’t have all of our weapons the last two games; we’ve been banged up early in the season,” Aycock said. “But we’ve got all three of our backs back healthy.

“And the special thing about those three guys, our quarterback and our two running backs, is they love each other. There’s a special bond there.”

A 61-yard return on the ensuing kickoff by sophomore Rylan Papania got the Rebels going. But after the Rebels drove to the Stone 10, the Tomcats forced a fumble, and senior Cayden Luster was right there to recover for Stone.

In the first half, the Tomcats held George County to just 56 yards of offense.

“We were real hard on those boys tonight,” said Luster. “I told the guys at the start, we got to be busting their tails all night. We’ve got to hustle to the ball every single snap, every play. That’s what we did.”

Stone ate up most of the remaining time in the first half, driving to the Rebel 4 before settling for a 21-yard field goal by Hendrix.

It was a different Rebel team that came out for the second half. Causey made an offensive adjustment that utilized senior fullback Wyatt Spidahl more in their Veer attack, and it was effective.

“We had two weeks to prepare for this team, and I’m glad our bye week fell when it did,” said Aycock. “Because what they do offensively is tricky. It’s hard to stop mid-line and veer over and over and over.

“We had to battle in the second half, because they’re a team that’s not going to quit. They’re a really good team, and their quarterback is such a tough kid. He’s a special player.”

After getting a quick three-and-out to open the half, George County drove 55 yards in nine plays to get on the scoreboard.

Junior quarterback Maddox Dunn got the drive going with a 15-yard gain on a keeper for the first down, and Papania picked up 11 for a first down at the Stone 15. Spidahl capped the drive with a 1-yard plunge on third down.

However, a halfback pass for a two-point conversion was no good, but the Rebels were in business, trailing 24-6.

Stone got its offense back on track, driving from its own 20 to a first-and-goal at the Rebel 6. But on the first-down play, the Rebels forced a fumble, with junior Titus Havens recovering for George County.

The Rebels picked up where they’d left off on the previous drive, as Dunn opened the possession with runs of 11 and 13 yards, then Spidahl had runs off 11 , 9 and 7 yards to move the ball into Stone territory as the third quarter expired.

A rare pass by Dunn to junior Keion Riley netted 24 yards, and Spidahl finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. Dunn’s pass on the conversion to Spidahl was good, and with 10:23 to play in the game, the Rebels were right back in the game at 24-14.

“They found our weakness up the middle in the second half,” said Luster. “But we got it together at the end, and we came out with the win. I love this new stadium. A lot of new opportunities.”

But that was the last play George County would run from scrimmage for the night. Stone regained the momentum on the ensuing possession, as Fairley scored his third touchdown of the game on a 40-yard scamper to give the Tomcats a 31-14 lead.

However, Braylon Fairley scooped up a bouncing ball on the kickoff and darted his way 82 yards for a touchdown to cut the margin back to 10 points once again.

“We made an adjustment with our formation that allowed us to do some more things,” said Causey. “And we’ve had a great return game all year. Braylon’s been doing that for us all year. I think he leads the state in return yardage.

“We’ll have three practices next week, give the kids a couple of days off, then start getting ready for West Jones.”

Dunn finished the night 91 yards on 17 carries, and Spidahl 55 yards on 10 carries, mostly in the second half.

When the Tomcats got the ball back, it was Howard who did the damage on the next possession, dashing from his own 20 straight up the middle for 70 yards to the Rebel 10 before the pursuit caught up with him.

George County held this time, resulting in a 27-yard field goal by Hendrix.

And that’s when Aycock rolled the dice, calling for an onside kick. Hendrix played it to perfection, bouncing the ball off a Rebel player, and junior Charley Pasley pounced on the loose ball for the Tomcats at the Rebel 35.

“We know their guys on the back end of their return teams are so good,” Aycock said. “They ran a punt back for a touchdown last week, ran a kickoff back to the 18 last week, then they had the big touchdown against us tonight.

“So it was, like, we’re going to take a gamble here, and we’re sending our scrappiest, toughest kid down the sideline to go get it. And it worked out so well for him. I couldn’t be prouder for him.”

Stone was able to milk the final 5:19 off the clock, as Fairley converted a third-and-3 with a 4-yard gain to the Rebel 24, then he had an 11-yard pickup to the Rebel 14 on second-and-11.

On fourth-and-1 from the 5-yard line, the Tomcats lined up for a field goal, but the Rebels flinched, jumping offsides to give Stone a final first down to seal the deal.

Stone has one non-region contest left next week, at home against St. Stanislaus, before getting into its Region 4-5A schedule at Wayne County, while George County gets two weeks to prepare for its Region 4-6A opener at West Jones.