Rough night for Trojan football

WEST BURLINGTON - The Fairfield offense had trouble getting its motor started on Friday night at West Burlington-Notre Dame. The Trojans couldn't stick with a speedy Falcon team, who used a 22-point third quarter to run away 42-14, handing Fairfield its first loss of the season.

The Falcons scored the first three touchdowns of the contest. WB-ND led 6-0 after the first quarter and added two scores in the second to take a 20-0 lead with just 2:08 remaining in the half. The third score was on a 14-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-one.

The Trojans did respond, however. Fairfield quarterback Isaac Harris marched the team downfield and scored in the final 10 seconds of the half. He found Max Weaton in the end zone on a 15-yard jump ball, breaking the scoreless streak with 8.3 seconds showing on the clock. The two-point conversion failed, but it was a ballgame at half, with WB-ND leading 20-6.

Fairfield had the ball to start the third quarter, but disaster ensued on the first play from scrimmage. WB-ND's Cayson Shipp scooped up a Trojan fumble and returned it 28 yards to the house, scoring a backbreaker to begin the second half.

That touchdown spiked a 22-0 Falcon run in the third quarter. WB-ND capitalized on a three-and-out and then an interception to score two more touchdowns in the first five minutes of the third. In the blink of an eye, a manageable deficit turned into a 42-6 Falcon Lead.

'They came out and did exactly what we thought they would do,” said Fairfield coach Nate Weaton. 'They played really good physical football right up front and they created turnovers, and turnovers win football games.”

Fairfield did find the end zone once more on the night. Harris hit Tate Allen on a three-yard pass, and Payton Cline punched it in for two to end the scoring at 42-14.

'We didn't' establish the run game up front, and we really didn't establish our dominance like we did last week,” said Coach Weaton. 'When you do that, and you're unable to win that up front at the line of scrimmage, you're able to open things up, and we just weren't able to do that.”

Harris finished the game 5-for-17 for 88 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also led the offense in rushing yards, with 49.

Brody Angstead showed big-play potential with two catches for 67 yards, which led the receiving group. Cline finished the night with 29 yards on the ground.

Fairfield's defense was paced by Logan Adam, hwo finished the night with eight total tackles. Aiden Lyons had 7.5 tackles, and Cline finished with seven.

The Trojans will look to get back in the winning column on Friday night when they return home to take on rival Mt. Pleasant. Both teams will enter that contest with 1-1 records.