Safeties difference in Washington win at Fairfield

FAIRFIELD — It’s no fun without a little excitement. There was a lot of excitement at Pearl Smith Field in Trojan Stadium at Friday’s Class 3A District 5 football game, a 17-14 Washington win over Fairfield.

Some excitement came from a reverse for a return touchdown, a reverse pass, two safeties, and Fairfield’s troubles backed up against its own goal line. If not for a field goal that was long enough but missed right by two inches, the game would be tied.

"We wanted to play with more effort, more passion and have more fun and be more loose than ever before,“ Fairfield lineman Nick Kaska said.

“I feel that our talks about trusting each other and doing our own job helped us put four quarters together and win,” said Demons linebacker Casen Evans.

Evans, Kole Williams, Bryce DeWolf and Logan Frazer met in the end zone with 4 minutes, 11 seconds remaining in the first quarter to record a safety.

“We had called a middle linebacker blitz,” Evans said. “I just knew it was coming through that hole with those two backs so I had to get where I needed to be. Logan Frazer showed me the hole (on the previous play), so shout out to him.”

Seconds later, Ethan Zieglowsky took a handoff on the ensuing kickoff from Ethan Patterson and returned 71 yards weaving in and out of traffic for a touchdown and a 9-0 lead with 3:57 remaining.

“My blockers set up perfectly so I had to follow them,” Ethan Zieglowsky said. “One guy touched me on the last cutback. Shout out to John Prochaska because his key block sealed it outside for me to cut it upfield.“

“We played to our potential, got some breaks finally,” WHS coach Nick Ehret said. “I have known all year that if we play 48 minutes, we’re good.”

The Demons had to play every last second as Fairfield had the ball twice in the last 3:40 of the game, first on its own 30 and on its 10.

““Our defense played ridiculously well and that’s why I said give it to our defense, let’s punt,” FHS head coach Nate Weaton said of his decision with 4th-and-6 at his own 34 and 2:38 remaining. “I felt really good about this whole group of seniors, just tremendous play that was all heart and all effort.”

The first play of the second quarter was the second safety of the game when a Fairfield punt snap was mishandled out the back of the end zone.

With 4:57 before halftime, Tayven Stuart made the score 17-0 with a rushing TD from the 6 to cap a five-play 60-yard drive with two crucial Kasen Bailey receptions.

Fairfield marched 61 yards on 12 plays, helped by pass interference and roughing the passer calls but overcoming a holding, to make it 17-7 with 52 seconds before halftime on Evan Haines touchdown catch.

The Trojans first possession of the second half started on their own 45 after a Demon fourth down was short. Nine runs, then an incomplete meant third-and-10 at the 19. Haines caught his second scoring toss after it hit another Trojan, a Demon and Haines’ hands three times as he fell, finally corralling the pass laying on his back in the end zone. It was 17-14 with 2:50 left in the third.

The second play of the fourth quarter was the field goal attempt.

The Demons passed just 10 times as Patterson was 5-of-8, but ran for 106 yards on 16 carries.

“I’m coaching to not lose and I’m usually coaching to score points,” Demon offensive coordinator Don Miksch said. “Our first two drives of the game, we were blocking some people.”

“We let them win the first half by our mistakes,” Weaton said. "It seems we have a special-teams blunder every game.“

"It means something more to beat our rivals,“ Zieglowsky said. ”Nothing better than beating on Fairfield on a Friday night, but 34 (Teddy Metcalf) is a tank, got to give him props.“

Metcalf had 32 yards on 10 carries and Hunter Cecchini 42 on nine. Tate Allen was 8-of-24 passing for 101 yards.

Washington improves to 3-5 overall, 2-2 district and plays its 2021 finale at West Burlington/Notre Dame. Fairfield drops to 5-3, 2-2 and has a chance to make the playoffs with a victory at Grinnell.

“Their defensive scheme in the second half was better,” said Zieglowsky, who scored the last points of a 71-6 win as a sophomore backup quarterback in 2019. “They’re a good team, they play hard, their linebackers are physical. It’s a completely different team from what I’ve seen in the past.”