Raiders boot Trojans to first loss

Fairfield?s 19-0 loss to Williamsburg Friday night ? a closer contest than the final score may indicate ? dropped the Trojans to 0-1 in district play, but a good gauge for the next six weeks may have been gained.

?This was a good game to give us a little bit of a measuring stick of where we?re at and where we need to get to,? said head coach Mike Schenck. ?I told our kids I was proud of how we played, especially defensively. I really think we?re going to get better, and it will be interesting going to play Clear Creek to see how our kids are going to bounce back.?

Williamsburg kicker Tim Jones turned into the game-changer from one of the more unlikely positions as he injected a little extra ?special? into the Raider special teams. Jones hit four of four field goals (36, 43, 37, 35 yards) to put the game out of reach and overshadowed a stout defense that pitched its second shut out in as many weeks. While Jones bombed three field goals in the second-half, the defense made its game-changing stand at the goal line in the final seconds of the first half to keep momentum securely on the Raider sideline.

After three straight completions by Fairfield quarterback Jordan Leazer gave the Trojans first-and-goal at the eight-yard line with just over a minute remaining in the second quarter, the Raider defense stood tall. With toes mere inches outside the end zone, first and third-down catches by Cody Moran and Jake Dunbar turned into incompletions and allowed Williamsburg to keep their 10-0 lead heading into the locker room.

?It was just a big momentum swing going into halftime and very easily could have been swung our way with a touchdown,? Schenck said.

Including that final drive leading to halftime, the Trojans were able to move the ball for much of the first half but unable to convert it into points on the scoreboard ? a problem that has plagued Fairfield since week one. Fairfield even controlled field position until a Williamsburg fake punt that went for 35 yards backed up the Trojans for the remainder of the first half.

?There was a penalty or two that hurt us and sometimes we just didn?t execute,? said Schenck. ?I really can?t fault our kids though; they played extremely hard all night, but it was just a matter that they were more physical up front than what we were.?

The physical play from both sides carried right into the second half where the Raiders cranked it up a notch. After driving into Williamsburg territory on its first three drives of the game, Fairfield picked up a first down on its opening drive of the half, but that turned out to be the only new set of downs the Raiders would allow the rest of the way.

?We bent a lot, especially early in the game, but I?m proud of the way we buckled down,? said Raider head coach Curt Ritchie, whose team improves to 2-1 on the year. ?They really impressed me, not only spreading us out, but also how physical they were up front. They?ve made a ton of improvement on both the offensive and defensive line, but I think we kind of wore them down a bit with our line.?

Other than a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tanner Blomme to Nick Timm to open the scoring in the second quarter, the Fairfield defense also took a bend but don?t break mentality, but the Raiders? special teams weapon made the difference. Jones never left a doubt with any of his four field goals that bailed out the Williamsburg offense and slowly put the game away.

?It?s been something he?s put a lot of time into, he made some big kicks for us last year, and he?s a guy that found a way to make himself better,? Ritchie said. ?Now, he has found a way to really contribute to this football team like he just did.?

Subtract Jones and add a different result to Fairfield?s final drive of the first half and the there may have been a different result altogether to reward the Fairfield defensive effort against a solid Williamsburg offensive attack. Schenck in not one to play the ?what-if? game however, and will move on with an 0-1 record in District 5 play to take on Clear Creek-Amana Friday.

Leazer completed 14-33 passes for 170 yards and the Trojans picked up 11 first downs ? 10 in the first half ? compared to just 10 from Williamsburg, but the stout Raider defense allowed little room to run. The Fairfield offense that was averaging 300 rushing yards per game entering Friday, was held to just 35 yards on 23 carries. Lani Eversage hauled in five of Leazer?s passes for 79 yards while Jake Dunbar had three.

Last season?s leading tackler Colton Smith returned to the starting lineup and led the defense, along with Tanner Metcalf, with six tackles apiece. Matt Hotek totaled 5.5 tackles including two for a loss.

The Trojan defense will now prepare for a potent aerial attack next Friday as they travel to Clear Creek-Amana.