ABOVE: Fairmont’s Elijah Johson sheds a defender looking for space downfield in the Section 3AAA tournament semifinals against the Luverne Cardinals on Saturday at Mahoney field.
FAIRMONT – The final stage of the Section 3AAA tournament has been set and will feature a rematch between the Fairmont Cardinals (7-2) and the Waseca Bluejays (8-1) this Friday at New Ulm High School.
The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
The Bluejays are responsible for one of the Cardinals’ losses this season.
The Cardinals are coming off of a 27-14 win over Luverne in the semifinal round of the tournament where quarterback Joe Long went 10 for 16 with two touchdowns and Nolan Schultze caught three passes for 109 yards, one of which was a 65-yard connection that resulted in a touchdown. Elijah Johson who posted 200 yards rushing on 25 carries with two touchdowns and a 44-yard reception for his third touchdown.
Heading into the Friday night game, the Cardinals have shown their versatility on both sides of the ball. The rematch will determine whether or not the Cardinals’ defense, however, is ready to deal with Waseca, which had success throwing to the flat against Fairmont on Oct. 16 in Waseca.
The return of Trevor Maakestad to the lineup adds height on the edge that in theory will disrupt the Bluejays’ offense and help with containment on the outside.
“He’s got long levers on him once that ball does get by him and he needs to step to swing the ground and pivot and go back the other direction,” said Farimont head coach Mat Mahoney. “I think his athleticism in general [stands out].”
The turnover issues Fairmont faced in the last meeting are being used as a point of coaching heading into this game, with the staff and the team focusing on getting the timing right to set up the run against a strong secondary presented by the Bluejays.
“So, that I thought helped us in kind of just the timing of our run and the meshing of our run stuff,” said Mahoney. “As far as our passing game goes, you know, we just have to be smart and take what the defense gives us.”
Fairmont wasted no time getting back into proper form after the loss to Waseca, finding its footing and getting the offense going again as seen against Luverne. The Cardinals are aiming to take what’s given and maintain possession and keep the mistakes to a minimum this time around.
“Joe can do just about anything we ask him to do,” said Mahoney. “He’s a smart kid. He’s a very good athlete, but we’re also going up against one of the best secondaries that we’ve ever faced, not just this year, but for a long time. So, we just create so many challenges. In a game like this, you can’t force the ball in those situations and create turnovers, and sometimes it’s hard for people to swallow it, but it’s okay to punt at times, you know, and try to flip the field.”
Long has been growing in confidence and making better decisions with the ball as of late showing further development and Mahoney has complete faith in his quarterback and squad as a whole to put themselves in a position to secure the title.
This is Fairmont’s fourth consecutive appearance in the section championship game and the team is hoping, as all teams do, to continue to push further with it being the last chance at a state title for the seniors on the team.