Cardinals secure 28-7 win in Homecoming game

ABOVE: Fairmont running back Elijah Johnson hurdles a St. Peter defender during a South District, Central-Red Subdistrict football game at Mahoney Field Friday.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont Cardinals secured a victory Friday night against St. Peter 28-7 in a South District, Central-Red Subdistrict football game at Mahoney Field.

The consistent run game combined with Joe Long’s ability to find receivers in space proved to be too much for St. Peter’s defense.

The Cardinals’ Homecoming game got off to a slow start, with teams getting a feel for what they were going to throw at each other. The Cardinals tried to establish the run, but St. Peter was prepared, keeping the damage to a minimum while establishing their own. This proved to be problematic for the Cardinals, who had given up just 20 points total in three games coming into Homecoming.

“We were in the right spot all night long,” said Fairmont football head coach Mat Mahoney. “You know, we just didn’t finish on some stuff there in the first half. … I thought we were in the right place, but we just had some missed tackles.”

According to Mahoney, the team made the adjustment on defense to contain the run game of St. Peter by closing up the gaps to prevent the Saints from scoring again.

The Cardinals’ offense wasted no time in getting to work, opening with a Joe Long pass to Nolan Schultze for a 36-yard gain. They continued the march downfield, chewing up the clock before setting up a quarterback draw which allowed Long to run the final 9 yards for his first touchdown of the night, taking a 7-0 lead with seven minutes left in the opening quarter.

The Fairmont defense kept St. Peter at bay, forcing the punt. Despite regaining possession, however, a Fairmont fumble put the ball right back in the hands of St. Peter.

The Cardinals’ defense held the line, though, forcing a turnover on downs courtesy of a pass batted down by Hunter Johnson.

The Cardinals’ offense stalled out to open the second quarter as it was unable to get moving, handing the ball back to St. Peter. St. Peter took possession on its own 12-yard line and strung together an 88-yard drive finished with an Alex Korir rushing touchdown to tie the game up at 7-7, leaving 4:08 on the clock. Again the Cardinals’ offense struggled to get going, turning the ball over. With 2:16 left in the quarter, a St. Peter fumble recovered by Oliver Tordsen set the Cardinals up with excellent field position. Elijah Johnson was finally able to find a gap in the defense, turning downfield for a 20-yard run. Long then rifled a ball over the middle to Brett Williams, who went over the head of a defender to secure the catch and find the end zone with a 33-yard touchdown to put the Cardinals up 14-7 with 1:10 left in the half.

St. Peter started the third quarter with the ball on the 31-yard line, with their option-run game disrupting the Cardinals’ defense until Hank Artz batted a pass away to force the punt. A Long tipped pass led to an interception for St. Peter, but they did not retain possession for long as Haden Toomer immediately returned the favor with an interception of his own. Elijah Johnson again found some space, getting the Cardinals to the 32-yard line before Long connected with Artz for another 15-yard gain. The Cardinals continued their march downfield, setting up a 14-yard run that allowed Elijah Johnson to find the end zone for the second time of the night, expanding the lead to 21-7. Long did exit the game late in the third quarter with an injury and did not return.

Long’s exit didn’t stop Fairmont from adding another touchdown, however, as Elijah Johnson again found the end zone with 10:27 left in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard carry for the final score. The Cardinals shut down the St. Peter offense and effectively ended the game by running the ball and making sure the clock didn’t stop.

The now 4-0 Cardinals are heading to New Ulm next on Friday to see if they can keep their winning streak intact.