FAIRHOPE – The Fairhope Pirates shut out visiting McGill-Toolen 24-0 in the Class 6A, Region 2 opener for both teams on Friday night.

Fairhope’s defense held McGill’s offense to just 169 yards and stopped two fake punts in the win.

“I think we tackled much better tonight than last week,” Fairhope head coach David Faulkner said. “We didn’t tackle last week against St. Paul’s, so we really worked hard on that in practice this week. We did a much better job on defense tonight.”

Faulkner said his defense leaned on senior defender Chase Garnham in the win. Garnham made several big plays, including a fumble recovery on the opening kickoff of the second half that led to a Fairhope touchdown.

“Chase is one of those guys we lean on for leadership,” Faulkner said. “He played very well tonight.”

Fairhope scored first on its second possession of the night. The Pirates drove 73 yards in 12 plays and Jamal Woodyard scored from 11 yards out.

The Pirates scored again just before the half when Ian Dingwall nailed a 35-yard field goal.

Woodyard added a six-yard score in the third quarter. Fairhope senior quarterback Daryl Norris connected with Nathan Andrews for a 23-yard touchdown pass in the fourth.

Unofficially, Woodyard finished with 125 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Norris completed 9-of-17 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. The Pirates did not turn the ball over against the Yellow Jackets.

“In this region early wins are big,” Faulkner said. “There are so many good teams in our region that these early games are huge. We have another big one in Foley next week.”

The Pirates (2-0) will play at Foley (1-1) on Friday. McGill-Toolen (0-2) will host Robertsdale.