ST. PAULS — For nearly three quarters, St. Pauls’ defense had held Fairmont in check, helping the Bulldogs to a two-possession lead.

Then Fairmont coach Kevin Inman made a surprise quarterback change, inserting junior Jahkeem Moore.

Two touchdowns and a blocked field goal later, Fairmont was the 16-13 victor in a thrilling Three Rivers Conference battle at G.S. Kinlaw Stadium.

“It’s huge for our program,” Inman said. “The previous two seasons, it’s been a knockdown dragout, four quarters of football. Coach Setzer does a good job and St. Pauls has got a good program, and as coaches and players these are the games you live for.”

“It’s an awesome game to play in,” St. Pauls coach Mike Setzer said. “It’s such a rivalry, and to be able to play like that. But we’ve got to play for four quarters.”

Moore came in at quarterback and promptly scored on an 80-yard run — turning a broken play after a bobbled snap into a momentum-shifting moment — for Fairmont’s first touchdown of the game with 30 seconds left in the third quarter, making it a 13-8 game.

“It’s a great feeling just seeing green grass,” Moore said. “I just worked for it, and helped my team win.”

After St. Pauls (3-1, 1-1 TRC) started the fourth with a turnover on downs and Fairmont (4-1, 3-0 TRC) punted, the Golden Tornadoes’ Robert McCormick recovered a St. Pauls fumble at the Bulldogs’ 45-yard line.

Moore found Skykeem Smith for 37 yards on the next play, then two plays later found Smith again for the go-ahead, 10-yard touchdown with 2:34 to go. A Cameron Harrington conversion run made it 16-13.

St. Pauls drove as far as the Golden Tornadoes’ 9-yard line in the closing moments, but after two big losses had to attempt a potential game-tying, 33-yard field goal. Brendan Jones blocked the kick for Fairmont with eight seconds left, preserving the victory.

“My heart I think started and stopped and started again,” Inman said. “It was crazy.”

Moore, who is usually a starter at wide receiver, came in at quarterback after the Golden Tornadoes struggled to move the ball offensively for the game’s first 35 minutes. He had previously played the position as a freshman on the JV squad and began the season last year there before moving to wideout.

He finished 2-for-3 passing for 47 yards and a touchdown and rushed five times for 95 yards and a touchdown.

“I practiced at quarterback, and coach told me when it comes down to it, be ready to play,” Moore said.

St. Pauls moved the ball effectively in the first half against the Fairmont defense, but was held to 90 yards of total offense in the second half.

“The first half we were able to impose our will, then the second half we were just kind of stagnant; little by little, they were shutting down the run more and more,” Setzer said. “They did a great job of adjusting to our run game.”

Overall, St. Pauls finished with more total yards (271-210), rushing yards (157-132), passing yards (114-78) and first downs (9-5) than Fairmont.

Marqueise Coleman rushed for 126 yards and touchdown on 32 carries for St. Pauls. Mikail Breeden was 6-for-11 passing for 114 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Will Ford caught four passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.

A botched punt on St. Pauls’ first drive resulted in a safety and a 2-0 Fairmont lead, which the Golden Tornadoes held into the second quarter.

Coleman scored on a 2-yard run, making it 6-2 with 9:15 left in the half as the two-point try failed. Two Bulldog drives later, Breeden found Ford for a 65-yard touchdown pass with 2:15 left in the half to go up 13-2, which remained the score at the break.

In the third, the sides exchanged punts with one Bulldog turnover on downs before Moore’s entry at quarterback.

Fairmont’s win snaps a two-game losing streak against the Bulldogs; the Golden Tornadoes have won 10 of 15 in the series and lead the all-time series 42-23.

Fairmont welcomes Whiteville next Friday in a meeting of two of the last three undefeated teams in the conference. St. Pauls travels to South Columbus.

Chris Stiles | The Robesonian Fairmont linebacker Dazon Ellerby, 22, knocks off the helmet of St. Pauls wide receiver Waltay Jackson.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_IMG_3446-FRONT.jpgChris Stiles | The Robesonian Fairmont linebacker Dazon Ellerby, 22, knocks off the helmet of St. Pauls wide receiver Waltay Jackson.

Chris Stiles | The Robesonian St. Pauls running back Marqueise Coleman, 32, stares down Fairmont defenders during a run.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_IMG_3404-INSIDE.jpgChris Stiles | The Robesonian St. Pauls running back Marqueise Coleman, 32, stares down Fairmont defenders during a run.

Chris Stiles | The Robesonian St. Pauls running back Marqueise Coleman, 32, goes airborne as he is hit by Fairmont linebacker Dazon Ellerby.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_IMG_3340-FOR-WEB.jpgChris Stiles | The Robesonian St. Pauls running back Marqueise Coleman, 32, goes airborne as he is hit by Fairmont linebacker Dazon Ellerby.
Fairmont edges St. Pauls

By Chris Stiles

Staff Writer

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1989 or by email at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.