FULTONDALE—There were simply no answers for the Fultondale Wildcats in the opening round of the state playoffs on Friday night at Wildcats Field.

The Class 3A, Region 6 champions lost a fumble on their first possession of the night, and went on to a 37-7 defeat at the hands of Weaver (8-3). Fultondale ends its season at 8-3.

For the first time of the year, head coach Richie Busby’s offense couldn’t run the football. The young unit, which has run wild on many defenses throughout the season, finished with 209 yards of total offense. 182 of that came on the ground.

“I was just worried about them being big, physical and fast,” said Busby following the loss.

Weaver was all of the above in Round 1. The Bearcats held Fultondale’s offense scoreless, as Antonio Purdom’s 55-yard interception return in the second quarter was the host’s only score of the evening.

“We’ve got to spend our offseason finding a way to throw the football when somebody takes the power game away from us. That’s what we’re going to do in the offseason,” said Busby.

Fultondale only completed two passes for 27 yards in the loss. On the other side, Weaver tossed for 133 yards and two scores on 13 attempts.

“When you have your secondary in man [coverage] and their eyes are in the backfield, that’s poor eye control. You can’t play like that, you have to have your eye on the guy you’re covering and you can’t lose him,” said Busby. “We knew what they were going to do. They don’t do a whole lot, but what they do they’re really good at.”

The Bearcats’ first touchdown was set up by a 48-yard strike from Paul Hubbard to Maurice Goodman. Those two would hook up twice more for touchdowns. The first went 24 yards on a play-action pass on fourth-and-14 to build a 14-0 lead in the second frame. The second came on a 15-yard toss sweep pass on third-and-9 to start the second half with a 27-7 cushion.

Fultondale’s one moment of celebration—Purdom’s pick-6 late in the first half—was immediately followed by an 85-yard kickoff return from Hubbard, sending Weaver to the break with momentum and a 20-7 lead.

The Bearcats face the winner of North Sand Mountain-Lexington next Friday in the second round.

“Our seniors won the first region championship since 2002, so it’s a celebration for those guys,” added Busby.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.