They were unable to sustain the threat, and their 2010 season ended with a 45-35 loss in the San Angelo Coliseum.
Fairbanks, which scored the game’s first touchdown, was led by quaterback Justin Rummell’s night-best 186 passing yards with three touchdowns, two of them to wide receiver Tyron Tony Taylor.
Defensive backs Noah Harris and Johnell Brown and wide receiver Lonnie Sanders also scored touchdowns for the Grizzlies, who posted a 9-6 record for the best finish in their three-year history.
The Stampede Express (11-4) cruised to a 35-12 lead with 11:46 left in the third quarter with an 11-yard catch by Johnathan Ferguson, the second of three scoring connections between the wide receiver and San Angelo quarterback Dustin Almond.
Fairbanks responded with three scores in the last 2:30 of the third and the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.
Receiver Lonnie Sanders collected a 32-yard touchdown pass from Rummell to make it 35-18 with 2:24 to go in the third. The Grizzlies went for the two-point conversion, but Rummell’s pass to Sanders was incomplete.
San Angelo kicker Darren Brown came up short on a 50-yard field goal attempt. Johnell Brown grabbed the miss and returned it 50 yards into the Stampede Express end zone with 14:38 left in the fourth. Carlos Ojeda delivered the point-after kick to make it 35-25.
Rummell found Taylor for a 15-yard strike with 11:03 left in the game and Ojeda’s PAT cut San Angelo’s lead to 35-32.
Ferguson’s 35-yard catch with 8:21 left pumped the Stampede Express to a 42-32 lead. Ojeda motivated Fairbanks with a 19-yard field goal to make it 42-35 with 4:58 on the clock, but Brown squelched the Grizzlies’ hopes of another rally with a 16-yarder with 4 seconds remaining.
Rummell completed 16 for 36 passes and had an interception, while Almond was for 9 for 28 for 172 yards and the trio of touchdowns to Ferguson.
Taylor led the Grizzlies with five catches for 46 yards and TyJuan Manning had the same number for San Angelo for 78 yards.
San Angelo’s Derrick Ross, the IFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, rushed 19 times for 86 yards and three TDs, while Rummell was Fairbanks’ leading rusher with two carries for four yards.
Taylor gave Fairbanks a 6-0 lead on a 10-yard touchdown catch with 12:39 left in the first quarter. The Grizzlies trailed 21-6 before Harris made it 21-12 by recovering a Ross fumble in the end zone with 2:48 left in the second quarter.
Ross overcame the miscue with a 1-yard run with 28 seconds left, giving the hosts a 29-12 halftime lead.
Harris, Brown and Devin Robinson each led the Grizzlies with four tackles.
San Angelo advances to a second-round playoff against the host Billings (Mont.) Outlaws, which defeated the Tri-Cities (Wash.) Fever 54-46 in a first-round game Sunday.
Billings placed first in the Intense Conference Pacific North Division in the regular season and Fairbanks placed second.
Contact staff writer Danny Martin at 459-7586.
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