West Limestone fought hard, but ultimately couldn’t quite find enough offense to upset Fayette County in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs Thursday night, falling to the eighth-ranked Tigers 21-12.

The Wildcats had an early lead and closed to within two points in the third quarter, but couldn’t quite get over the hump and a fourth quarter touchdown and late interception sealed the game.

After a scoreless first quarter, West Limestone scored first on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Graham Pepper to Levi McCormick. The extra point was missed, keeping the score at 6-0.

Fayette County, the No. 1 team from Region 6, answered quickly, as quarterback Scott McAlpine scored on runs of 20 yards and 2 yards to give the Tigers a 14-6 halftime lead.

West Limestone came back in the third quarter, as Pepper scored on a 3-yard run to close the gap to two points, but the 2-point conversion attempt, which would have tied the game, failed.

Fayette County gave itself some breathing room in the fourth quarter, scoring on a third and long to make the score 21-12.

West Limestone had a couple of more possessions, but couldn’t crack the scoreboard again, and its final scoring opportunity ended with about a minute to go with an interception.

West Limestone finished its season with a 4-7 record while Fayette County improved to 9-2 and will face either Randolph or Jacksonville in the second round of the playoffs next week.