“Yeah, he was in,” Fairmont head coach Dave Miller said after his team beat Springfield 17-13. “We preached handing the ball to the official. It looked bad because the ball kind of came back onto the field.”
The play in question was a 1-yard run by Logan Doty, who lined up in the triple I and followed two blockers across the goal line with his team trailing 13-10 and under 20 seconds to play.
He lost the ball before hitting the ground, and Springfield players and fans began to celebrate when safety Quenta Wafer Jr. came up with it.
But an official ruled Doty had broken the plane before he lost the ball. The touchdown counted, and the Firebirds led 17-13 after Max Gehring’s PAT kick.
“I knew I was in the end zone, but my initial thought when I let go of the ball was just to get on it and try to find it,” Doty said. “But everybody on our side started to cheer, and that’s when the weight was lifted off my chest.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
After Gehring boomed a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, Springfield got the ball at its 20 with 15 seconds left, but a desperate series of laterals ended near midfield with no time on the clock.
That left Fairmont to celebrate improving to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the GWOC while Springfield fell to 5-4 and 4-2 in the league.
With Centerville beating Springboro 28-10, the Firebirds and Elks will head into Week 10 with a chance to be co-champions if both win.
“Words can’t describe it,” Miller said. “Just a great high school football game. I mean, we knew it coming in. You come up here and these are the champs. They’ve been in the state championship the last three years. Coach Douglass and staff do great job. Their kids played their butts off. Just a great high school football game. And proud of our kids. They did a great job.”
The Firebirds got out to a 10-0 lead early thanks in no small part to great field position.
They started their first possession at the Springfield 45 after Logan Wilkins threw Springfield quarterback Brent Upshaw for a loss on a fourth-and-2.
Fairmont took over and went 25 yards to set up a Gehring field goal of 37 yards with two minutes left in the first quarter. That capped a six-play drive aided by three offside penalties on Springfield.
The visitors got it back two plays later when they recovered a fumble at the Springfield 36.
Nine plays later, Doty crashed over the goal line from three yards out to make it 10-0 with 8:21 left in the second quarter.
Springfield went three-and-out on its next possession but got a great punt from Nathan Hudson that pinned the Firebirds back at their own 19.
That loomed larger when Miller gambled on fourth-and-1 at the Fairmont 28 and Doty was stuffed by Jahmiere Daniels for no gain.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Springfield took advantage, going 28 yards in six plays and cashing in when Deontre Long went around right tackle for a 2-yard touchdown.
Fairmont received the kickoff to start the second half and kept the ball the entire third quarter, running 16 plays to advance to the Springfield 11.
But that was as far as they got, and the possession ended up being for nothing when Gehring’s 29-yard field goal went wide left on the second play of the fourth quarter.
Springfield responded with an 80-yard drive that took 11 plays and ended with Upshaw finding Sherrod Lay Jr. in the end zone from 11 yards out with 6:21 to go.
That gave them a 13-10 lead, but that is where it stayed when the Wildcats failed in two attempts to get the extra point. The first kick was blocked, but they got another chance when Fairmont was called offside. The second kick never got in the air as Wafer, the holder, was tackled after taking the snap and trying to run with it.
Fairmont’s game-winning drive started at the Firebirds 20 with a 32-yard pass from Baker to Luke Cheatwood, but the Firebirds had to overcome a first-and-25 from their own 49 after being called for a chop block three plays later.
After Baker kept for seven, they got 16 back on an inside reverse to Damien Pattin, who slipped by a Springfield defense overplaying to the other side. Baker then hit Nolan Stringer for 14 yards to convert fourth-and-2 and keep the drive alive to eventually set up Doty’s game-winner.
Springfield coach Maurice Douglass delivered a lengthy address to his team on the field after the game but only wanted to congratulate his opponent before heading to the locker room when that was done.
“I want congratulate Coach Dave Miller and his team,” Douglass said. “They did a great job.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Springfield will finish the regular season Thursday night at Northmont before beginning the playoffs, likely at home.
Fairmont entered the night two spots ahead of the Wildcats at No. 2 in the Division I, Region 2 playoff standings.
The Firebirds will be at home next Friday against Beavercreek while Centerville will take on rival Wayne.
Miller praised his team for its resilience.
“Could have tanked it there when they went down and scored, but we battled back,” Miller said. “Kept battling, made some plays there. And Brock Baker, can’t say enough about him, and just the leader that he is on our team. But guys just made plays.”
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