Fairview coach George Redding.

PLEASANT GROVE — Fairview’s sensational season ended Friday night following a 47-17 loss to second-ranked Pleasant Grove in the Class 5A semifinals.

The Spartans (12-1) raced out to a 21-3 halftime advantage against the Aggies (12-2), and running back Demarcus Lacey finished the contest with more than 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns to help the home team advance to its third straight championship game — where No. 1 Pike Road awaits.

“They’re an explosive team, and we knew they had a physical defense — and we saw that,” Fairview coach George Redding said. “I thought we hurt ourselves early with some penalties, but they were the better team tonight. I’m super proud of the guys and the way we continued to fight, though. We belonged here. Our kids fought to get here and earned every right to be here. I couldn’t be more proud for a group of young men.”

Elijah Guyton put Fairview on the board first, booting a 42-yard field goal at the 4:45 mark of the first quarter. The Aggies then recovered a pooch kick on the ensuing kickoff. But the Purple and Gold couldn’t add more points, and Pleasant Grove soon took over the game.

Alex Young and Lacey each had touchdown runs before Young tossed a touchdown pass to Tadarius Parker late in the second period to put the Spartans up by 18 points.

Lacey ripped off touchdown dashes of 83 and 46 yards in the third quarter to effectively put the game away. Markell Jordan capped the offensive fireworks for Pleasant Grove with a pair of scoring runs in the second half.

Tyler Simmons, meanwhile, registered both of Fairview’s touchdowns — a 25-yard run in the third quarter and a 34-yard scamper in the fourth period — to finish his productive night with 120 yards on 13 carries. Eli Frost added 77 yards on 19 carries.

Despite the tough loss, the Aggies set a school record for wins (12) and points (584) in a season en route to reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994 and the semifinals for the first time in program history. Over four seasons, Fairview’s talented senior class garnered a 36-12 record, five playoff wins, three postseason berths, a region title (2019) and a 16-3 region mark.

Talk about leaving behind a legacy.

“I hope they’ve planted a seed for the guys coming up,” Redding said. “Hard work and sticking together and fighting — because a lot of people might look at you and say, ‘You can’t do this.’ What this has proven, though, is that if you put your feet on the floor and go to work, you can do it. And I hope they’ve shown others that.”