Fairfield preps for matchup with Centerville

Fairfield was unable to pick up a victory against a tough opening week foe in then-No. 10 Benton last week. The Trojans fell 29-12 and will look to rebound in its first home contest of the season Friday.

The Trojans will face Class 2A foe Centerville in its second game of the season. The two sides will square off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Fairfield High School.

Friday’s matchup will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2013. Fairfield has 3-1 mark against Centerville since 2010.

Despite the loss, Fairfield hung around with Benton, and was only down two points heading into halftime. The Trojans leaned on their run-heavy attack, racking up 41 carries for 193 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Junior Ethan Bisgard started the season strong with 90 all-purpose yards along with a rushing and receiving touchdown.

Fairfield’s defense, which tallied 37.5 tackles and a sack in Week 1, will have to come out strong against a Centerville side that scored 56 points in its opening win over Knoxville. The points total is the most Centerville has scored in a game since 2022, when it also scored 56 against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.

Centerville returns quarterback Mack Murdock and its leading rusher Makoa Kaleponi from a season ago. Murdock threw for 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman. He started his sophomore campaign strong with 12 completions for 210 yards and four touchdowns against Knoxville.

Kaleponi led a deep backfield with 390 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground last season. He accounted for nearly half of those yards with 193 along with three touchdowns during Centerville’s offensive explosion in Week 1.