Panthers, Trojans square off

FAIRFIELD — For the fourth year in a row, it’s Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant in game number one.

The Panthers visit the Trojans for the 2024 football season opener on Friday night, as the two old rivals renew the Highway 34 rivalry.

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will kick off at 7:30 p.m., at Fairifeld High School, as both teams look for their first win under a new coaching regime.

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For Fairfield, head coach Matt Jones hopes to return to the helm in winning fashion after taking over for Nate Weaton in the offseason. Mt. Pleasant’s John Bowlin looks for his first victory as a coach since taking over last season.

The Trojans will be looking for their fourth-straight win in the rivalry. Fairfield pulled away with a 17-0 second half to beat the Panthers 38-14 last season.

Although Mt. Pleasant couldn’t put together a win last year, the Panthers are set up nicely in returning starters. The Panthers are ready to roll with leading rusher and tackler Payton Walker, as well as the only other two players to take snaps at quarterback last year, Zach Newton and Cooper Coleman.

Walker is also the leading returning tackler from last season, and the Panthers will have on hand three of their top five tacklers from 2023.

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Fairfield loses much of its production from last season, but the Trojans still have senior Wyatt Johnson, who rumbled for 308 yards last season. The Trojans do lose everyone who took a snap behind center last season and most of their receiving core and defense.

Along with winning each of the last three, Fairfield has taken nine of the last 13 matchups in the rivalry. Mt. Pleasant did have a four-year winning streak from 2017 to 2020.

It may be the last year the Trojans and Panthers play on opening night. The two teams have drawn each other in non-district play in both district shake-ups in the last five years, but new districts are set to roll out again next season.