Playoffs arrive early for Trojan football

Fairfield head coach Mike Schenck doesn?t need to explain to his players the importance of Friday?s game against Mount Pleasant.

The players are well aware what?s at stake. A loss to the Panthers would effectively knock the Trojans out of the playoff picture, while a win would put them back in the race for a spot.

?It?s basically the first round of the playoffs for us,? said Schenck. ?We have to win out to be a qualifier, and it starts Friday.?

The Trojans (0-5) have struggled out of the gates, most recently falling 42-7 to Williamsburg last Friday, but an unbalanced schedule hasn?t done them any favors. Fairfield opened the season with three losses by a combined nine points and then couldn?t keep up with district favorites Keokuk and Williamsburg in weeks four and five. They play arguably the four weakest teams on their schedule to conclude it, and a win against Mount Pleasant would be a huge first step toward retribution.

According to Schenck, the key to a victory Friday will once again rest on the Trojans? ability to make good decisions with the football and limit the big play on defense. For the past few weeks, both have hurt them.

?It?s the one play basically that?s killing us, either with a turnover, penalty, allowing a big pass completion or missed tackle,? said Schenck. ?We do well for three plays and then on the fourth play something happens to us.?

Schenck believes everything hurting the football team is correctable, though, and the key word this week has been ?consistency.?

?We?ve done a lot of repetition this week as far as running the same plays over and over,? he said. ?Rather than to have a wide array of plays at our disposal going into the football game, we?ve concentrated on just a few and hopefully can be effective at running those few plays.?

Fairfield quarterback Dillon Fry carved up a better Mount Pleasant defense for 208 yards passing and 118 yards rushing in the teams? meeting last season, when the Trojans won 44-24, and he could be in for a big week again. The offense has relied on the Fry-to-Spencer Peterman connection often, as well, and Peterman has caught more than half of Fairfield?s catches in 2012.

If Schenck has learned anything through the Trojans? first five games, however, it?s that his team can run the ball on anybody. Against one of the top rush defenses in Class 3A last Friday, Mason Carnahan rushed for 72 of the team?s 93 yards behind a starting line consisting of Jake Mineart, Austin Deao, Mason Ellis, Brett Scott and Cody Craff.

And while Fairfield?s offense has struggled with consistency at times, the Panthers have experienced similar troubles. Mount Pleasant had an incredibly rough start to the season, falling to Marion 70-7 in Week 1 and losing their first three games. In the three-game stretch, they were outscored 159-16 and gained only 37 yards with the ground game.

The Panthers have since turned things around and posted consecutive wins against Fort Madison and Centerville. Still, they have yet to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark in any game.

?They seem to be a football team that?s making improvement,? said Schenck. ?They?ve got some nice kids up front and some nice athletes at skill positions.?

Senior Connor Shull leads the Panthers from the quarterback position and will be looking to pass often. Shull has completed 36-for-76 pass attempts for 481 yards, throwing four touchdowns to three interceptions. Senior Dalton Conrad leads the Panthers with 216 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and senior Alex O?Donnell also has two touchdown receptions.

The two receivers will be paired up against Trojan seniors Justin Hammes and Mason Carnahan at cornerback, with junior Jordan Whitney receiving plenty of time there, as well. The trio of cornerbacks will be joined in the secondary by senior free safety Jonny Swanson and senior strong safety Josh Dimmitt.

Schenck added that anyone could win Friday?s rivalry game.

?Mount Pleasant vs. Fairfield is always a tremendous rivalry, and I think our kids and their kids always put a little extra emphasis on this football game,? he added.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in Mount Pleasant.