Above: Fairmont’s Hadan Toomer goes for a jump ball against Luverne in the Section 3AAA football semifinals Saturday at Mahoney Field.
FAIRMONT – Fairmont’s defense strongly resisted both the run and pass in a 27-14 win over Luverne on Saturday at Mahoney Field, punching its ticket to the Section 3AAA soccer finals.
Offensively, Fairmont was able to play Luverne’s defense well and get the job done.
“We just took advantage of what they were trying to do.” Fairmont football head coach Matt Mahoney said. “They were trying to stop EJ (Elijah Joeson) very low in the box and we just took a few shots there. Stay there and make some beautiful throws. A lot of credit to Joe (Long).” The defense did a great job of stopping their runs and we did a really good job of winning and controlling the lane. ”
Quarterback Long led Fairmont’s team with 200 yards on 10-of-16 completions and two passing touchdowns, while Nolan Schulze completed three passes for 109 yards and one scored a touchdown. On the ground, running back Elijah Johnson had 25 rushes for 200 yards and two touchdowns, including one catch for 44 yards and a touchdown.
The first quarter started with a skib kick by Luverne that caught Fairmont by surprise, but it failed. Fairmont went about its business in its usual fashion, handing the ball to Elijah Johnson, who got ahead of the Luverne defense with a 9-yard run before breaking free with a 45-yard run with 10:42 left in the first. It was a touchdown. Luverne put together a 10-play, 74-yard drive before responding with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Carter Sale to level the score at 7-7. Fairmont showed off its versatility when quarterback Joe Long connected with Nolan Schulze for a 65-yard touchdown pass with 6:22 left to give Fairmont a 14-7 lead and cap off the first scoring run.
Luverne held on for some time in the second quarter but couldn’t capitalize, giving the ball back to Fairmont. Elijah Johnson did what he does best, breaking into the secondary and scoring a 52-yard touchdown run with 2:02 left in the quarter, extending Fairmont’s lead to 21-7. Hank Ertz proved to be a threat to Luverne’s offense, sacking Sale for a 5-yard loss before the end of the first half.
In the third quarter, both teams had a chance to feel the movement of the other on the field, and then it became a defensive battle. Luverne took a play out of Waseca’s playbook and quickly hit the ball flat, but Fairmont learned its lesson in that game and its defense held on, not allowing either team to score in the third quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Luverne turned the ball over on downs and established a 35-yard connection between Long and Schulze. The play ultimately resulted in a scoreless drive for Fairmont, but the defense forced a four-and-out to get the ball back. This set up a quick pass from Long to Johnson, leading to a 47-yard touchdown and giving Fairmont a 27-7 lead after a missed PAT. Luverne scored one more point to narrow Fairmont’s lead and the final whistle ended the game at 27-14, securing Fairmont a spot in the section championship game.
Fairmont will play Waseca in a revenge match for the Section 3 AAA title on Friday at 7 p.m. in New Ulm.
