Published: November 07, 2009 08:25 pm      

Game 'One for the books'

As if winning a sectional championship wasn't enough, Fairfield made sure it was a game that people will talk about for years.

“This is definitely one for the books,” Falcon coach Bob Miller said, the school's first-ever sectional trophy held securely in his left hand. "I'm proud of the way the kids persevered and believed in themselves and each other.”

The final 1:45 of the game saw the Falcons lead change into a tie, then a six-point deficit and finally a win on a heart-stopping 80-yard drive to defeat Bremen, 28-27, for the 2A sectional championship.

The Falcons will play a regional game next Friday night at Rensselaer which is also 10-2 after a 21-18 sectional win over Wheeler.

After all but five seconds had expired in the see-saw contest, the fate of the Falcons' season rested on the left foot of Derek Vogelzang.

Tanner Foust had gathered in a pass from Chase Pinion with five seconds remaining to tie the score. As the teams lined up for the extra point, Bremen called timeout to give Vogelzang more time to think about his kick.

Vogelzang wasn't fazed.

“I just kept thinking, Don't do anything different. It's no different than any other kick, just focus on the ball.”

The kick split the uprights for the 28-27 lead.

On the kickoff, Vogelzang punched the ball hard into the ground, causing it to bounce to Bremen. They had no choice but to fall on it.

That left them time for one more play, a heave downfield that was overthrown as time expired.

The pass play to Foust had nearly worked on the previous play. The Falcons were on the 13 with 15 seconds remaining when Pinion threw the ball to Foust heading for the corner of the end zone.

The defender became involved just enough to disrupt Foust and he dropped the ball. So Fairfield came back with the exact same play. This time Foust had gained a step on the defender and hauled in the pass. Offensive coordinator Zach Worthman was prepared to call the same play again.

“They were playing single coverage on that side,” he said. “I'll take my chances anytime with Tanner in single coverage.”

Fairfield was no stranger to such a two-minute drill. On Wednesday in practice the team had executed one flawlessly in just 38 seconds.

“The two-minute drill, for whatever reason, the last two years we've been able to execute it well,” Miller said. “It's something they feel confident in doing.”

The first quarter and chunks of the fourth quarter didn't create many happy memories for Fairfield.

Bremen had won only one regular season game but opened the first quarter as if they were ranked No. 1.

The Lions scored a touchdown on their first possession, forced the Falcons to punt after just three plays, then quickly scored again. Bremen gained 145 yards in the first quarter.

“At the start we thought we'd put ourselves in a situation where we could stop them but obviously we couldn't,” Miller said. “After the first quarter we scrapped everything we'd worked on all week and went back to basics. The kids were a lot more confident with that and played better.”

The adjustments worked, as the defense made several big stops. The offense then finally crossed the goal line. After a 31-yard run by Darin Hochstetler, quarterback Chase Pinion punched it home from two yards out.

Fairfield received the opening kickoff in the third quarter but were pinned on their own 10. After two plays they had gone backwards a yard to the 9.

Pinion then fired a short pass to Foust cutting across the middle. He broke one tackle and then was past the defense, easily outsprinting them for a 91-yard score.

Bremen seemed poised to score on their next possession when they pushed the ball to the 9. But on the next play, Alex Hostetler ripped the ball out of the running back's arms, giving Fairfield the ball on the 6.

Fairfield couldn't capitalize then, but came up big early in the fourth. Bremen had again driven inside the 20, but a penalty forced them back to the 23. On third and 14, Nate Leeper dropped back to pass.

But Falcon linebacker Adam Kolakowski slammed into Leeper so hard the ball popped loose. Doug Beiler scooped it up at the 27 with no one in front of him and ran the 73 yards for the touchdown, putting Fairfield up 21-14.

Later, Fairfield forced yet another Lions fumble, but again did little with it. This time that proved costly.

Bremen drove down the field, eating yardage and time off the clock. Finally, at 1:45, Brock Molebash broke free from 14 yards out to tie the score at 21.

The Falcons then started a drive they hoped would put them into field goal range. But on the second play, Pinion's short pass was picked off by Cody Barrier at the 30. Barrier had no trouble covering the yards to the end zone.

The extra point failed but the Falcons trailed 27-21 with just 1:16 to play.

That set up Fairfield's game-winning drive.