Rams top Tornadoes behind Lennon’s 3 TDs

FAIRMONT — After the Fairmont-Purnell Swett football game that was suspended by storms on Friday evening resumed on Saturday morning, it didn’t take long for the Rams’ Simmeon Lennon to make a big impact on the game.

In just 38 seconds of game time, the Rams’ senior scored two touchdowns, adding to the one he scored in the Friday night portion of the context. Those scoring plays doubled Purnell Swett’s lead from 14 to 28 as they cruised to a 40-12 win over the Golden Tornadoes.

“Simmeon, we always knew he had it in him,” Purnell Swett coach Josh Deese said. “I’m glad he finally put his hands on the ball, because we know if he can just touch the ball he can make something happen. So I’m proud of him, that was unbelievable, he’s playing great for us.”

After the Friday night lights were interrupted by lightning and rain, the game resumed under Saturday morning sunshine. On Saturday’s first play, Charles Wilkes forced a fumble after a short Fairmont completion and Lennon recovered it, running five yards to the end zone for a touchdown to put the Rams (1-1) up 21-0 with 8:16 left in the first half.

“The fumble, I leave that to my boy Charles Wilkes,” Lennon said. “He got the strip, I picked it up and was right there at the tuddy, and locked it in.”

Fairmont (0-2) went three-and-out on the ensuing possession before punting to Lennon, who returned the kick 32 yards for another touchdown to make it 28-0.

“My coach, he told me if they kick it short, take it to the crib,” Lennon said. “That’s what I did, that’s what I do best I feel. I feel like my teammates, they blocked extra good today, they were really locked in, so I really give the credit to them.”

“It was a key point in the game,” Fairmont coach Jeremy Carthen said. “We’ve just got to come together as a team and have each other’s back, and continue to play. Something good’s going to happen, something bad’s going to happen, and we’ve got to be able to face adversity.”

That was the second punt return touchdown of the game for Lennon, who also had one from 50 yards within the first 90 seconds of the game Friday night. Purnell Swett also scored on its first offensive drive, with a 2-yard run by Devon Jacobs, on its first offensive drive to go up 14-0.

After Lennon’s two quick scores when play resumed Saturday, Raymond Cummings connected with Elan Locklear for a 35-yard touchdown pass. The extra-point try was unsuccessful, but the Rams led 34-0 with 5:16 left in the half.

An interception by Jayvon Brown and two Rams penalties got Fairmont in good field position, and the Golden Tornadoes capitalized by scoring their first points of the season with a 25-yard pass from Jamarion Brown to Omarion Carmichael. The two-point try failed, but Fairmont cut the Rams’ lead to 34-6 with 1:07 left in the half, and that remained the score at the break.

Neither side scored for nearly the entire third quarter, with Purnell Swett missing a field-goal try and turning the ball over on a fumble recovered by Carmichael; the Rams did convert a Nikolai Lambert interception into points on the ensuing drive when Caleb Goins found the end zone on a 6-yard run on the final play of the quarter. The PAT was blocked, but Purnell Swett took a 40-6 lead to the fourth quarter.

The only scoring in the fourth came when Fairmont’s Xavier Pittman recovered a Rams fumble and ran 50 yards to the end zone.

“We threw a couple of young guys in there (in the second half), and I saw a lot of freshmen and sophomores grow up tonight,” Carthen said. “I saw some freshmen that might be starting next week, I’m pretty sure they will be starting next week. They bring a little bit more want to to the game, and we’ve got to go with guys that’s going to do it the right way.”

Both sides were penalized often throughout the game, especially the Saturday portion. Purnell Swett had 12 penalties for 150 yards, while Fairmont had 10 for 93.

“This is two weeks in a row with the penalties,” Deese said. “That’s just not going to be sustainable for us. We’re going to have to calm down with the penalties or it’s going to be a long season, but we’re definitely going to correct that at practice.”

Purnell Swett ran for 243 yards, including 91 from Goins, 55 from Jacobs and 53 from Cummings.

“That’s a big thing, our running backs just need to get a little bit more confidence,” Deese said. “We had one that couldn’t play last week, Devon, and he stepped up, I’m proud of him.”

Both Cummings and Aidyn Locklear played significant time in both halves at quarterback for the Rams. Cummings completed five passes for 101 yards, and Locklear completed threee for 43 yards. Elan Locklear caught three passes for 61 yards and Wilkins had three receptions for 46 yards.

“We’re going to see where we’re at with that,” Deese said. “Both (quarterbacks) did excellent. Aden’s strengths and Raymond’s strengths are two totally different things, but we’ve put them together and we can do big things with both of those guys.”

Purnell Swett has now defeated Fairmont three straight seasons after the teams had previously never met on the football field, adding to a 24-8 win in 2022 and a 25-8 triumph last year.

The Rams host Red Springs next week, looking to continue the momentum gained from their Week 2 win over the Golden Tornadoes.

“We needed a morale booster,” Deese said. “Hopefully we can carry this into next week as well, going into our bye week. It’s next week, and then there’s going to be some big games coming up.”

“It was big, we needed it,” Lennon said. “We’ve practiced hard, so we need a win. I don’t want to practice for no reason, so we feel like it was big for us, especially going into next week.”

After starting the season with two games against in-county 4A competition, Fairmont has another tough matchup next week at Westover.

“I take the positives from (the game),” Carthen said. “The younger guys are growing up. They didn’t quit on me. We do have to figure out a way to communicate better between the players and the coaches, whenever they’re frustrated. We’ve just got to do better, all around, and it starts with me.”