Fairfield flies to Game 1 victory

FAIRFIELD — Football games can be won in the first few minutes after coming out of the locker rooms, and that’s exactly what happened in Friday night’s rivalry showdown between Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant.

The Trojans were red-hot in the first quarter and red-hot in the third as Fairfield ousted Mt. Pleasant 41-20, the Trojans’ second-straight win in the rivalry.

Fairfield came out and scored on its first three drives of the game. Quarterback Tate Allen and star tight end Max Weaton scored first on a 16-yard touchdown run early. Hunter Cecchini made it a two score game with a 10-yard touchdown run with 4:41 showing on the clock, and Weaton caught a 49-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-0 with 2:03 left in the first period.

“That’s the first time we've done it in probably two or three years,” Fairfield head coach Nate Weaton said about the hot start. “When you do that, you just set the tone for the entire football game.”

Mt. Pleasant battled back. The Panthers marched down and scored on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Richtman to Wyatt Woodsmall, which cut the lead to 20-6, and Mt. Pleasant had the ball inside the Fairfield 30 later in the half, but the Trojan defense stayed strong and Fairfield held on to a 14-point halftime lead.

The third period was all Fairfield. A pair of botched punt attempts by the Panthers turned into two quick scores as Allen found Weaton on a pair of red zone touchdowns to take the Trojan lead to four scores, at 34-6.

“I would say we clicked on all levels in two of the four quarters,” said Weaton. “It's a huge testament to the guys and how much work we put in the offseason”

Mt. Pleasant would score twice more as Garrett Cook caught a 19-yard touchdown pass and Payton Hagans rushed in for a short touchdown, but those two scores sandwiched another for the Trojans, as Allen hit Tallon Bates for a 30-yard score.

Allen finished 6-for-9 for 152 yards, five touchdowns dn one interception. Weaton caught five passes for 122 yards and four scores, and Cecchini ran for 131 yards and a touchdown.

Fairfield’s defense was paced by Lucas Konczal, who had 15.5 tackles on the day.

Mt. Pleasant’s Richtman went 21-for-32 for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Carter Amos led the receivers with nine catches for 67 yards. Woodsmall finished with three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Zerek Venghaus led the rushing attack with 84 yards. Hagans finished with 35 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and 33 yards through the air.

The Panther defense was led by Bowen Davis, who recorded 4.5 tackles. Woodsmall had one interception, the only take-away of the game.

Mt. Pleasant head coach Shawn Striegel says he sees where his squad needs to get better ahead of another rivalry game against Washington (1-0) next week.

“Our kids were juiced up to go at the beginning of the game,” said Striegel. “We just weren't where we needed to be. We have some improvements to make, and it better be a big improvement if we want to go after Washington.”

As for Fairfield, the Trojans will play in a battle of 1-0 teams at Ottumwa. Three of the first four opponents on their schedule were teams they defeated last year, and Fairfield hopes a win over rival Mt. Pleasant can kick off another good start.

“Looking back at all that work we put in when we were younger, we were the ones getting our butts whooped,” said Allen. “Giving the butt-whoopings now is really fun.”