HAMMOND | LaRunte Fairley meet the endzone. Endzone meet LaRunte Fairley.
In what was supposed to be the welcome back party for EC Central do-it-all running back Martayveus Carter, senior defensive back Fairley also danced his way into the party by hitting paydirt three different times in EC Central's 46-6 nonconference win on Friday night.
Carter, returning from a one-game suspension, ran for 156 yards and two TDs, also adding an electrifying 95-yard interception return at the end of the first half to pace the visiting Cardinals offensively, but Fairley showed his team a thing or two on the other side of the ball as well.
On the first play from scrimmage, Carter took it the distance from 80 yards away, showing how valuable he is to EC Central (3-1) and how he's one of the most dangerous runners in the Region.
Fairley also added an 80-yard score of his own, as he capped off a quick 3-play, 95-yard drive that lasted all of 1:26 behind a mammoth offensive line that averages 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds.
"Without the line we're nothing," said Carter, who ran for over 100 yards midway through the first quarter.
Gavit's two bright spots in the first half were quickly shot down.
The first was when Gavit drove all the way down to the Cardinal 30 and Tashon Rogers failed to connect on a wide open pass.
The other was at the end of the half when Gavit got all the way down to the EC 15, but Carter picked off quarterback Aryk Rivoli-Johnson and took it all the way back as time expired.
"The hard work and dedication pays off, so it's my last year and I'm trying to make the most of it," said Fairley, who ran for 84 yards and a TD. "Martayveus makes our whole football team better."
The two scores of the third quarter were courtesy of Fairley, who ran not one, but two interceptions back with one from 85 yards and the other from 70 yards, respectively.
Carter also pointed out the defense as a driving force behind the dominant win.
"We picked it up on D tonight," he said. "I knew No. 5 (Fairley) would get the ball when it was in the air, so I knew I had to get a block."
Running back Brandon Phillips scored the lone TD for Gavit (1-3) and added 53 rushing yards on eight carries.
"They have speed, which we just couldn't match," Gavit coach Robert Robinson said. "They have two phenomenal athletes and we just gotta get healthier."
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