Grinnell jumps over Fairfield for sub-state victory

GRINNELL ? Being out-executed by a good football team usually doesn?t bode well for a team with its season on the line.

Wednesday, Grinnell completely shut down a previously red-hot Trojan running game and did more than OK on the ground themselves to bounce Fairfield from the Class 3A postseason with a 27-7 victory.

?We just got out executed tonight, but I really can?t fault our kids ? they played hard and we had an outstanding season,? said Fairfield head coach Mike Schenck. ?We got better and better throughout the season, but got beat by a better team tonight.?

The Fairfield running game that entered Wednesday averaging nearly 250 yards per game on the Trojans? five-game win streak, picked up just 25 yards on the ground and forced Fairfield to the air.

?They were huge up front and I?m sure they thought they could overpower us up front, but we didn?t let that happen,? said Grinnell head coach Jim Dunne, whose team moves on to play Pella Monday. ?Fairfield?s a good football team, and I know they ran a lot of spread early in the season, which they went to and picked up some yards that way.?

Quarterback Jordan Leazer was a big reason for the up tick in the passing game, but a game-changing interception early in the third quarter swung the game in Grinnell?s direction for good. After driving down the field for a scoring strike to Josh Hyde late in the second quarter, Fairfield trailed 13-7 heading into the locker room. On the Trojans? second possession of the third quarter, Tiger defensive back Brian Kramer stepped in front of a Leazer pass and galloped 26 yards into the end zone.

?The one mistake in the third quarter really hurt,? Schenck said. ?We were running a crossing pattern, the receiver got bounced by a linebacker and just didn?t make it to where Jordan thought he would be.?

The score put Grinnell up 20-7 and the game into the hands of the Tiger running game led by senior Jake O?Polka ? the same running game that helped Grinnell build the 13-0 first half lead. O?Polka?s four-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter gave the Tigers their first score and set up an equally big play from the Grinnell defense.

On Fairfield?s ensuing possession, the Tiger front stuffed Fairfield running back Michael Hammes on both third and fourth-down plays of less than a yard.

?I thought we were a little intimidated and back on our heels. I wanted to challenge our kids, and if we can?t get six inches it?s going to be a long night for the running game, which it was,? said Schenck.

Taking over at the 29-yard line, the Grinnell offense picked up where the defense left off and landed another body blow with O?Polka?s one-yard touchdown blast six plays later to make the score 13-0.

?It was big. Especially when it?s down in their territory and the offense can punch it in,? Dunne said.

While Fairfield continued to pass with moderate success, no points came and Grinnell was content to keep things on the ground. An array of halfback sweeps, misdirection plays and quarterback options continually got the Tiger running backs on the outside where they picked up most of their yards including 11 third-down conversions.

?What I am proud of is that they weren?t able to run between the tackles on us ? most of the yardage was around the ends,? said Schenck. ?I just thought we were a little soft on the corners and gave up too much yardage.?

Grinnell piled up 216 yards on the ground ? led by O?Polka?s 82 ? with a backfield consisting of five players with at least five carries each. Kurt Montgomery capped a time consuming drive of nearly six minutes with a 12-yard touchdown burst to make the score 27-7.

?We were able to get outside on them the first couple drives and they just didn?t have an answer for us,? Dunne said. ?Then we got up by a few scores and just needed to grind out the clock. It?s a nice situation to be in and we certainly have the running backs to do it.?

Josh Hyde and Jake Dunbar each caught four balls for Fairfield and the two seniors finished with 60 and 57 yard, respectively, including Hyde?s 10-yard touchdown catch from Leazer late in the second quarter. Matt Hotek led the defense with 13 tackles. Ryan Brewingon?s interception with 23 seconds left before halftime gave the Trojans hope to take a halftime lead before time ultimately ran out on the offense.

Fairfield finishes 2009 with a 7-3 record while Grinnell moves to 9-1 and into a game against Pella, which went on the road to upset Williamsburg 31-24. Centerville beat Washington 40-8 while Clear Creek-Amana is the only District 5 survivor after posting a 38-3 victory vs. Carlisle.