09-10-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
JOHNSTON CITY - As the saying goes “all good things must come to an end.”

In the case of the Fairfield Mules and their Black Diamond Conference football winning streak, that run came to a “screeching halt” on the road Friday night at Johnston City.

The host Indians made the right plays at the right time, which included forcing two big turnovers late in the game, to hold off the Mules, 28-26 to improve to 2-1 on the season while ending Fairfield's 37-game league winning streak that dates back to 2016.

Coach Todd Thomas saw his club overcome three turnovers and a whopping eight penalties for 58 yards in a mistake filled evening.

However it was the Mules who had the most self inflicting wounds (mistakes) on this night.

Coach Justin Townsend's squad coughed up five turnovers of their own, including an interception in the final two minutes that sealed the first conference defeat for his program in five seasons.

“They (Johnston City) have some tremendous athletes on their side. I felt the team that made the fewest mistakes would win the football game tonight and I think that played out,” said Coach Townsend. “We turned it over I think six times (actually five) and on top of that we turned over twice inside the 20. We were inside the five twice and couldn't punch it in. I think that was the difference in the game. Our turnovers hurt us in inopportune times.”

Senior running back/defensive back Austin Brown, a University of Wisconsin recruit, helped lead his team to a hard earned win in a physical game that took it's toll on both teams.

His 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half was a spark that the Indians needed as they extended their advantage to 20-12.

Johnston City senior quarterback Heith Neibch connected on 10-of-18 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.

Of those 177, senior wide out Corbin Hickey snagged seven of those passes for 149 yards and the touchdown pass.

That TD catch gave the Indians a lead in the first quarter.

“It (the game) was intense, that's for sure,” said Austin Brown. “The will of God, a lot of focus and our dedication to the game won for us tonight. We watched a lot of film (Fairfield) to prepare for this game. It just came down to grit. I told my teammates that we had everything to gain and nothing to prove tonight. But we proved it (winning) tonight.”

The game started well for the Mules as senior running back Noah Barger took the opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown to begin the contest.

Although the two-point conversion attempt failed, Fairfield led 6-0 just seconds into the first quarter.

“The whole complexion of the game could have changed after that (opening kickoff) but we kind of regrouped. We were very physical with our defense early and I knew that the fourth quarter was going to be a grind,” said Coach Thomas. “We preach 'bend but don't break' and that is what we did. They (Fairfield) are a very good football team and program. I can't say enough about our kids and how hard they played. They came out, never quit and battled.”

Fairfield forced the game's first turnover after the Indians drove deep into Mules' territory.

A 23-yard completion from Neibch to Hickey got the ball to the Fairfield 41-yard line.

But on the next play, Neibch was intercepted by Fairfield senior McGwire Taylor.

It didn't take the Mules long to give the ball right back to the Tribe.

After three plays gained only seven yards, Fairfield's Keaton Fort fumbled the snap on a punt attempt and the Indians recovered at the Mules 12-yard line.

Following a three-yard run by senior Isiah Watson, Neibch found Hickey in the left corner of the end zone for the Indians first score with 8:47 left in the first quarter.

The PAT from junior Kaden Dover made it 7-6 Indians.

The next possession for Fairfield turned out to be just like the last one.

The Mules coughed up another fumble, this time on their own 13-yard line.

Konnor Dagg, a senior running back, put the ball on the ground where the Indians again took advantage.

On this possession Watson took care of business as his third down run up the middle, including a nice side-step near the goal line, resulted in a touchdown with 6:40 to go.

Dover nailed his second PAT as Johnston City led 14-6.

The constant for Mules, their “bread and butter”, is their running attack.

Coach Townsend's offense got things going on it's next drive, marching the ball from their own 32 yard line to the Johnston City three.

But the Indians held, stopping Fairfield on a fourth-and-goal on the final play of the first quarter.

Taking over inside their own one-yard line, Brown got the Indians some breathing room with an impressive 17-yard run, where he broke three different tackles.

The drive, with Neibch connecting with Hickey and also junior with receiver Conner Mowery.

But Neibch, with the Indians now in Fairfield territory, threw his first interception as Taylor picked off the quarterback's pass and returned it to the 29-yard line.

Once again the Mules took the ball down the field only to come up empty.

Converting a pair of fourth downs on the drive, the Mules got into the red zone only to turn the ball back over.

This time Mules' junior quarterback Eric Rodgers fumbled and the Indians covered it on the six-yard line.

As it turned out, Johnston City also had issues hanging onto the ball.

On the next play from scrimmage, Watson fumbled and the Mules' Barger fell on it at the JC seven-yard line.

This time Fairfield found the end zone.

Two consecutive runs by senior fullback Konnor Dagg resulted in the Mules second touchdown of the night.

Like the previous score, the two-point conversion failed, leaving the visitors behind 14-12 with 3:41 left until halftime.

Johnston City managed a drive into Fairfield territory before intermission.

Hickey returned the kickoff to the JC 48-yard line and the senior caught another pass from Neibch for a 19-yard gain to the Mules' 25.

The Indians failed on a fourth-and-three at the Fairfield 18 on an in complete pass.

Fairfield ran out the clock to end the two mistake filled quarters of play.

Despite three turnovers, the Mules trailed by just two-points heading into the second half.

But the last thing Coach Townsend's team needed was a big spark by JC to open the third quarter.

The Indians got it as Brown took the second half kickoff, ran to his right and then broke a pair of tackles.

The 6-foot-1 senior then reversed his course going to the left side of the field.

After picking up some key blocks, Brown took care of the rest as he sprinted all the way for a touchdown.

Although the PAT was blocked, JC led 20-12.

Fairfield put together their best drive of the game following the Brown score.

They marched down the field on a 15 play, 73-yard drive.

The highlights of the 5:22 minute crusade included a 28-yard run by sophomore Jay Mooring and four runs by Dagg.

Dagg's fourth carry of the drive resulted in a one-yard score.

The two-point conversion, an option run by junior quarterback Eric Rodgers, evened the score at 20-20 with 6:16 left in the third quarter.

Fairfield had a chance to finally get the lead after stopping the Indians on their next possession.

The Indians drove into the Mules territory and appeared to have taken back the lead on a touchdown pass.

However a holding penalty nullified the score and an incomplete pass on a fourth down from the Fairfield 14-yard line gave the ball back to the Mules with 3:02 left in the third.

The Mules took the ball to the JC but another fumble, this time by Barger, gave the Indians back the ball at their own 37.

In what turned out to be a game-changing play, Neibch found Hickey on a pass and the senior did the rest as he raced 52-yards down to the Fairfield 11.

A run by Watson for four yards set up Neibch, who scored on a seven-yard TD run.

The two-point conversion run by Neibch made it 28-20 Indians

Fairfield got the ball back on the kickoff and with a fourth-and-five at their own 49-yard line, the Mules line up to go for it but Rodgers quick kicked the ball all the way down to the Indians six-yard line.

The Mules forced a JC punt and got the ball back at the Indians' 47.

Two plays later, Fairfield scored.

After a Dagg run up the middle for nine-yards, Mooring took a hand-off and went to his left for a 38-yard scamper.

This TD put the Mules in position to even the score with a successful two-point conversion.

A run up the middle by Taylor wasn't good enough as the Indians kept the senior out of the end zone.

With 3:40 left in the fourth quarter, Fairfield decided to go for an on-side kick.

The plan worked as sophomore Latrael Mooring recovered the kick at the JC 39-yard line.

As bad as this night had been for the Mules, they were in a spot in which they could extend their league winning streak with a score.

However on this night, the turnover bug that they had wouldn't go away.

On the very next play, Dagg fumbled and JC's Mowery came up with the recovery.

The Indians tried to run out the clock but Fairfield made one final defensive stand, forcing a punt.

Fairfield got the ball back with 1:36 remaining at their own 44-yard line.

As many mistakes that were made on this night, it was fitting that the Mules would end up with another turnover to seal their defeat.

On the first play after the change of possession, Rodgers rolled to his right for a pass but Mowery, who had recovered the previous fumble, intercepted the pass and returned it to the Mules 33-yard line.

“We felt like if we could grind it out that we could take control in the fourth quarter. I felt like we had taken control of the line of scrimmage. We had a chance when we got the ball at the 40 late in the game but we coughed it up again,” said Coach Townsend. “You can't do that against good teams and we did that tonight.”

With no timeouts remaining, Fairfield watched in dismay as Johnston City ran out the clock on three kneel-downs as the Mules' winning streak “bit the dust.”

The Mules were efficient on the ground when they weren't turning the ball over as they ended up with 234-yards on 48 carries with Jay Mooring doing the most damage (12 carries, 121 yards, 1 TD).

Dagg ended up with 72-yards on 17 attempts and Taylor took it nine times for 35-yards.

Berger led the kick returning with 113 total yards on three returns.

Defensively the Mules got six solo tackles from junior defensive back Reegan Taylor and four from junior Luke Sork.

Senior defensive back Camden Robbins was hurt early in the game but his Fairfield teammates stepped up defensively to help out.

Watson led the Johnston City rushing attack with 42-yards on 10 carries while Brown ended up with six runs for 27-yards.

Neibch rushed four times for 19-yards.

Mowery, not only produced two key defensive plays but he also caught a key 16-yard pass.

On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Ben Morgan put together a fine night with nine solo tackles while Brown delivered eight.

Hickey added 41-yards on a pair of kick returns.

Both teams head right back into action next Friday night as Fairfield heads north to take on former North Egypt Conference rival Flora.

“The kids are down because no one likes to lose but we're going to turn the page and we get to play our old rivals Flora next week,” said Coach Townsend. “We just didn't get it done tonight when we had our chances.”

The Indians host Hamilton County next Friday night.

“We want to enjoy it but we can't have a let down next week. We're a bit beat up I'm sure, it was a physical game. The kids were cramping up. I couldn't be happier for our kids,” said Coach Thomas.

Fairfield - Barger 78-yard kickoff return (PAT Failed) - 11:46 1st Quarter - 6-0 Fairfield.

Johnston City - Neibch to Hickey - nine-yard TD pass (PAT Good) - 8:47 1st Quarter - 7-6 Johnston City.

Johnston City - Watson 10-yard TD run (PAT Good) - 6:40 1st Quarter - 14-6 Johnston City.

Fairfield - Dagg two-yard TD run (PAT Failed) - 3:51 2nd Quarter - 14-12 Johnston City.

Johnston City - Brown 85-yard kickoff return (PAT Failed) - 11:38 3rd Quarter - 20-12 Johnston City.

Fairfield - Dagg one-yard run (Two-point Conversion Good) - 6:16 3rd Quarter - 20-20.

Johnston City - Neibch four-yard run (Two-point Conversion Good) - :00.8 3rd Quarter - 28-20 Johnston City.

Fairfield - Mooring 38-yard run (Two-point Conversion Failed) - 3:47 4th Quarter - 28-26 Johnston City.