CVCA hosted Fairless in week 9 of the football season. It was a cold and wet night at Royals Stadium, but these two PAC-7 foes produced a thrilling game. The never quit attitude that has defined the Royals this year was on full display on Friday night. The Royals were able to overcome a 14 point halftime deficit and earn a 28-22 win after an exciting 4th quarter. The win snaps a 19 game losing streak for CVCA and is the first win for Coach Dan Larlham's squad. 

The Falcons received the ball first and would score on their opening position. Fairless picked up a big gain through the air early in the drive. They would score on a 1 yard quarterback run and add a 2 point conversion for an early 8-0 lead. Both teams would trade punts to round out the first quarter.

The 2nd quarter began in the middle of a CVCA drive. The Royals would just miss on a pass to the end zone and the drive would stall. The ball went to Fairless on downs deep in Royals territory. On the 3rd play of the drive, the Fairless quarterback took the ball 82 yards for a touchdown. The conversion failed and the score stood at 14-0. CVCA looked to get on the board after a long drive, but Jay Woodlee was ruled out of bound on a nice pass from Elijah Payne late in the 2nd quarter. The score would remain 14-0 through halftime.

The Royals would respond in the 2nd half. A team that hasn't quit all year long, was not intimidated by the 14 point deficit. After a quick 3 and out, the Royals got the spark they needed. The spark was in the form of a defensive touchdown. Defensive back Jordan Decatur jumped the Fairless pass route and took the ball 36 yards for the pick six. CVCA was now down just one score at 14-7. The ensuing Fairless drive ended with a turnover on downs and gave the ball and momentum back to the Royals. A long run by Jordan Decatur and long pass from Elijah Payne to Ryan Kovar helped the home team march down the field. Elijah Payne finished the drive with a 1 yard touchdown run and the score was all tied up at 14. Before the 3rd quarter closed, Fairless added a touchdown and two point conversion to lead 22-14.

Once again, the Royals responded. After moving the ball down the field, they were faced with 4th and 7. Elijah Payne found Jack Atwood over the top of the defense for a 16 yard touchdown. Down 22-20, CVCA tried to tie things up with a 2 point conversion, but failed. They now trailed by 2 points with just under 11 minutes left. Fairless would again have success moving the ball on the ground. The Falcons moved the ball into Royals territory before a fumbled snap turned into another turnover. The Royals took over on offense and had their eyes on the end zone. On the fourth play of the drive, Jordan Decatur took the hand-off and ran through a huge hole in the middle of the offensive line. He would go 41 yards untouched for the touchdown. They added the conversion and now led 28-22 with seven and a half minutes left. 

Just 7 1/2 minutes stood between the Royals and their first win of 2016. However, the defense would need to stand tall in those final minutes. The Falcons once again drove the ball into CVCA territory. After a holdling call on a touchdown run, Fairless faced a third and eleven from the CVCA 19 yard line. Defensive back Isaac Strausser intercepted the Fairless pass to end the drive. CVCA would need one more stop after punting the ball back to Fairless after a three and out. The Royals defense would stand tall. After one first down, they locked up the Fairless offense and forced another turnover on downs. The CVCA offense lined up in victory formation and ended the game with 2 quarterback kneels. Final Score: CVCA 28 - Fairless 22.

Jordan Decatur finished with 115 yards rushing an 1 touchdown. He also had 1 interception returned 36 yards for a touchdown. Jack Atwood had 1 touchdown catch and 70 yards rushing. Elijah Payne finished 12 of 21 for 113 yards through the air with 1 touchdown.