Trojans freeze out Oskaloosa with offensive explosion

Fairfield head coach Mike Schenck called Friday?s game against Oskaloosa a must-win if his team was going to make an appearance in the 2009 postseason.

Apparently, his players thought the same thing. The Trojans came out firing on all cylinders and never looked back against the Indians (1-6, 1-4) ? especially an offense that put up its highest point total since a 55-15 win against Davis County on October 19, 2007. With a 55-27 win Friday, Fairfield now has three straight victories and a 5-2 record heading into big rivalry games against Washington and Mount Pleasant in the final two weeks of the regular season.

?We talked before we came out that this was kind of a first round playoff game for us. We basically need to win out to ensure that we make the playoffs,? Schenck said. ?They played like their back was against the wall and played physical football from the very beginning.?

The running, passing and receiving trio of Michael Hammes, Jordan Leazer and Josh Hyde primarily led the big offensive charge. Hammes ran for 119 yards ? his fifth 100-yard game of the season ? while Leazer hooked up with Hyde six times including touchdowns of 27 and 43 yards. It was Hammes however that really swung the way Fairfield?s way from the opening kick. The junior tipped a punt on Oskaloosa?s first possession before capping the first Trojan drive with a two-yard score to give Fairfield the early lead.

?It just set the tone for the game. From there, we kind of took off, took advantage of every opportunity and really put it on them,? Hammes said.

Leazer also got a big start for Fairfield on the ground with several big runs on the first drive and a one-yard score to put the Trojans up 14-0 on their second possession. Leazer finished with 59 yards on the ground but also got back on track in the passing game after not completing a pass in last week?s 14-7 win at Keokuk. The dual-threat junior connected on 10-13 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns thanks in part to more looks from the spread formation that the Trojans went away from in wet conditions last week.

?It feels a lot better to be in the spread,? he said. ?We had been away from it for six quarters already so it?s nice to get back in it and be able to throw the ball.?

The multi-dimensional spread formation paired with the power running they get from the I-formation could make the Trojans a difficult team to stop in the coming weeks to close out the season. Either way, Friday?s offensive output is more of what Schenck has been looking for from his team all season.

?Offensively, we were sharp and that?s kind of what we?ve been waiting for,? he said. ?We felt we were capable of that kind of offensive output. We did a nice job early of mixing up the run and the pass to keep them off balance.

?We executed, had some kids make some plays, and those are the plays that we?re capable of making week in and week out.?

Several of those big plays highlighted by Schenck came from the hands of Hyde. After Oskaloosa made the score 14-6 with a Jake Osborn one-yard touchdown run, Leazer and Hyde started to warm up the Trojan passing attack. Leazer hit Jake Dunbar on a key third-down conversion to set up the 27-yard scoring strike to Hyde on the next play. Two possessions later, on the first play of the drive, Leazer found Hyde again down the left sideline from 43 yards out.

Meanwhile, the Trojan defense led once again by Matt Hotek, kept the Indian offense in check for most of the first half including a three-and-out on Oskaloosa?s next possession that led to a 55-yard Cody Moran punt return taken all the way back to the end zone. The score gave Fairfield its biggest lead of the game officially blew the game open in Fairfield?s favor with a 35-6 score with 1:14 left in the half.

Indian quarterback Jon Eveland hit wide receiver Jordan Van Wyk for a 76-yard score just before halftime to make the score 35-13 heading to intermission.

Hammes picked up where the Trojan offense left off in the second half with an 18-yard touchdown scamper to give Fairfield a 42-13 lead after one possession. Leazer found tight end Davis Lowenberg in the end zone and Austin Atwood broke out for a 47-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to wrap up the 55-27 Trojan romp.

While the Fairfield defense gave up the most points since a 37-point output in week four by Clear Creek-Amana, the Trojan win was never in doubt past the opening minutes.

?It?s three in a row. Three district wins in a row. It avenged a loss to Oskaloosa last year, and I think right now we have a lot of confidence in what we?re doing and the kids feel good about it,? said Schenck.

Hotek collected a team-high 16 tackles and the rest of the defensive line held the Indians to just 91 yards on the ground. Linebacker Jeff Guttry tallied 14 stops.

With the momentum that has piled up the last few weeks, Fairfield now heads to Washington on Friday for a game with major district implications as both the Trojans and Demons look for one of the four playoff spots.

?They?re a good team and we knew it was going to be hard-fought, but the important thing is we got the win,? Hammes said. ?Now we?re focused on Washington next week and hoping we can win out. Our goal has been to get into the playoffs and that?s what we?re shooting for.?