Fairfield blasts Conrad
FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield football team has been the dominant force in Class B and the Eagles continued to show that here Friday night.
The Eagles (6-0) took down District 1B opponent Conrad 56-16, led by quarterback and defensive back Tanner Mayer. The senior accounted for six Fairfield scores.
Tight end and defensive end Chandler Allen dominated for the Eagles on both sides of the ball, catching two touchdowns on five catches for 164 yards and notching two sacks for the Eagles.
Fairfield head coach Les Meyer said although he’ll take explosive plays from his team, they can’t rely on them all the time.
“We were able to hit some big plays,” Meyer said. “But that’s not the way we want to make our living. We want to be able to do that but we want to move the ball down the field as well.”
The only Cowboy points came on a kickoff return for a touchdown and a heave from Conrad quarterback Clark Judisch on fourth and long, both in the second quarter.
Despite the blowout victory, Allen said there are a few things the Eagles can clean up.
“We did well,” Allen said. “We kind of let them score on us, gave up some big plays. We have some things we need to clean up on defense and (on offense) we have to work on some blocking schemes but other than that we did good.”
Conrad head coach Mick Morris said the Eagles’ ability to score at a moment’s notice make them very difficult to defend.
“(Fairfield) is such a dynamic football team with their ability to strike fast and hit big plays,” Morris said. “That’s what they got us on tonight. Hats off to them. They fly around and their solid.”
Conrad was aggressive early, attempting a fourth down in Fairfield territory on its first possession, but were turned away by the Eagles and Fairfield took over at the Conrad 25.
Judisch intercepted a Mayer pass two plays later giving Conrad the ball right back. However, Allen took Judisch down in the backfield on another Conrad fourth down attempt, giving Fairfield the ball back on the Cowboy 27.
Mayer found the end zone three plays later on a four-yard tote, set up by an Allen 27-yard catch and run on the previous play. After an unsuccessful conversion attempt, the Eagles led 6-0.
Conrad went three and out on the ensuing possession, this time electing to punt from its own 15.
Fairfield blocked the rollout punt attempt and defensive lineman Kyle Snyder recovered the ball in the end zone for an Eagle score. Fairfield failed again on the two-point conversion, but led 12-0 midway through the first.
The Eagles recovered a Conrad fumble on the ensuing drive at the Cowboy 37, and Mayer scampered in for his second rushing score of the contest four plays later. Sophomore Griffen Lee helped set up the score, rushing for 27 yards on three carries on the four-play drive.
Fairfield held its 20-0 lead through the end of the first.
Both teams turned the ball over on downs to begin the second quarter after long drives.
Fairfield showed some explosion on its second possession of the half, driving 69 yards in five plays. Mayer capped the drive, hooking up with Allen for a 40-yard score to make it 28-0 Eagles.
Conrad got on the board immediately after, as the speedy Daylon Jay broke off a 90 yard kickoff return to pay dirt to cut the Fairfield lead to 28-8.
The Eagles turned the ball over on downs on the following drive and the Cowboys capitalized, as Judisch found receiver Bert Paulsen for a 44-yard touchdown on fourth and fifteen. A successful two-point attempt by Conrad put the score at 28-16.
The big-play ability of Fairfield stymied the Conrad surge, however, as the Eagles ripped off 14 points in 20 seconds following the Conrad touchdown.
Allen hauled in an 80-yard score from Mayer, shedding off Cowboy defenders on his way to the end zone.
Allen recovered a squib kick on the next kickoff and Mayer took it in two plays later to put the score at 42-16, where it would remain at the half.
The second half featured mostly backups for both sides. Fairfield scored on its opening drive, with Ethan Schenk hauling in a Mayer pass from 15 yards out. Freshman Libien Becker rushed up the middle for a 20-yard score near the end of the fourth to cap the scoring at 56-16.
Morris said despite the score the Cowboys played fairly well overall.
“We just kind of got overwhelmed there for a little bit,” Morris said. “But we’re getting better. Anytime you’re able to play against a quality team like Fairfield it’s good. There were times when we were able to hang with them and trade punches. So, opportunities like that are a positive.”
Meyer said although Fairfield is in prime position in league play, it can’t be content.
“We haven’t made the playoffs yet,” Meyer said. “We’ve put ourselves in good position but we know we made some mistakes. We’ve got a lot of room for improvement.”
Fairfield moves on to face Shelby on the road while Conrad moves on to face Cut Bank.
CONRAD 0 16 0 7
FAIR 20 22 7 7
First quarter
FAIR – Tanner Mayer 4 run (run failed)
FAIR – Kyle Snyder blocked punt recovery (pass failed)
FAIR – Mayer 10 run (pass good)
Second quarter
FAIR – Chandler Allen 40 pass from Mayer (pass good)
CONRAD – Daylon Jay 85 kickoff return (run good)
FAIR – Allen 80 pass from Mayer (Tarren Lee kick)
Third quarter
FAIR – Ethan Schenk 15 pass from Mayer (Lee kick)
Fourth quarter
FAIR – Libien Becker 20 run (Lee kick)