WINNSBORO – Fairfield Central dropped into basketball season with a tough front-end schedule.
They opened their schedule with a stretch of games against teams in higher divisions. They faced off with Keenan (3A boys defending state champion) on Dec. 2. Led by sophomore Payton Martin in scoring with 8 points, the girls fell 48-17 to Keenan. The boys followed with a 59-36 loss to the Raiders.
Both teams hosted 5A Westwood on Dec. 5. The Redhawk girls took control of the game in the first quarter and held on for a 57-16 win over the Griffins. Junior Ashlynn Pinkney led Griffin scorers with 6 points.
The Griffin boys trailed the Redhawks by just seven points at halftime, but a big third quarter put the game out of reach for Fairfield. Westwood took a 65-39 win. Seniors Khaleb Feaster and Desmond Edmonds led Griffin scorers with eight and seven points respectively.
Both Griffin teams picked up their first win of the season on Dec. 9. The girls blew out York Prep with a 50-8 final to move to 1-2 on the season. On the road, the boys took down 4A Camden by a five-point margin.
The Griffins trailed by five after the first quarter, and Camden extended their lead to 35-26 at halftime. Fairfield limited Camden’s scoring to 17 points in the third and fourth quarters and put up 31 points to take the 57-52 win. Senior Rashawn Brown led the Griffins with 26 points. Feaster and junior Landon Morgan had 11 points each. Feaster also had a team-high eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
On Friday, Dec. 12, the teams traveled to Keenan for their second meeting of the season. The Raider girls downed Fairfield 65-12. Despite trailing by only three after the first quarter, the Griffin boys fell 64-29. Feaster led again with 11 points.
The girls got back into the win column on Tuesday, Dec. 16 when they hosted Richard Winn. The Griffins claimed a 54-32 win over the Eagles. The Griffin boys followed with a rematch against Camden, this time for a five-point loss. The Griffins trailed by two after the first quarter, and Camden maintained the two-point lead through the end of the third. A battle in the fourth put Camden on top for the 49-44 win.
The Griffin boys saw some preseason action in November when they battled with 2025 5A state runner-up Blythewood High School. Blythewood claimed the 91-71 win over Fairfield. Rashawn Brown put up 20 points for Fairfield in the preseason loss. Thomas Johnson had 15 points and Feaster added 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
They followed with a 53-52 pre-season win over Richland Northeast on Nov. 25. Feaster led Griffin scorers with 14 points. Brown, Johnson and Edmonds had 10 points each.
Both Griffin teams returned to action at Westwood on Wednesday, but scores were not available prior to The Voice’s press deadline.
They will host Newberry High School on Dec. 22, then the girls will break for the holidays. The boys are scheduled to play Burke on Dec. 27, Baptist Hill on Dec. 29, and Timberland on Dec. 30 in a holiday tournament.
Both teams return to regular season action at York Prep on Jan. 7.