10/24/2026
BY JACK BULLOCK
FAIRFIELD - In a game that lasted exactly three hours, the Fairfield Mules spent most of that time in possession of the football in their playoff home game against Staunton on Saturday.

They played 'move-the-chains' which kept the potent Bulldogs' offense in check and off the field.

“The 'if you don't have the ball, you can't score' philosophy paid off.

The Mules held the ball 35:35 of game clock of the 48 minutes and out-gained the visitors 414-to-149 as they pounded out a 32-7 win at the Train Yard.

The win puts the 6-4 Mules into a second round road game at Benton next week.

“This was a tremendous effort by out defense. He (Staunton quarterback Paxton Brown) can throw it. He threw five touchdown passes against Vandalia and our guys did a tremendous job. Our offense kept pounding away. I would have liked to have punched a few more (touchdowns) in today but we were able to drive the ball most of the day and keep it out of their hands,” said Fairfield head coach Justin Townsend.

Running backs junior Grant Otey (164) and senior Michael Barner (112) did most of the ground harm to the Staunton defense, combining to rush for 276-yards.

Barner scored three of the touchdowns and Otey delivered the other TD in the dominating victory.

Quarterback Caden Best didn't have to do much in the air for the Mules, passing for just 61-yards, connecting on five of his 10 attempts.

Up front in the trenches is where the contest was decided.

Having a size advantage on both sides of the ball, Fairfield controlled the contest from beginning to end.

The strategy by the Mules held Staunton 21-points under its season average per game.

“We lose to a team today that we were probably giving up 65 pounds (each) on the offensive and defensive lines and we knew that was going to be a challenge,” said Coach Klaustermeier. “They won the toss and took the ball and we knew that (running the ball) was what they were going to try and do. They did a great job of keeping us off the field.”

Getting the ball after winning the opening coin toss, Fairfield went down the field on a drive that lasted 8:05 for what turned out to be the game winning score.

The scoring march was 16-plays covering 74-yards.

“We felt like we could control the line of scrimmage so if we take the three and four yard gains then we would have the ball and keep it out of their hands,” said Coach Townsend. “We did exactly that in the first half and continued it in the second half.”

This set the tone as the Mules defense did its part by holding Staunton to only five first downs.

Fairfield stopped the Bulldogs on its first possession, forcing a punt on a three-and-out after a holding penalty spoiled a fourth down conversion.

The hosts carved out another scoring march, this time 61-yards on eight plays as Barner delivered his first TD on a three-yard run.

The senior plowed into the endzone for the two-point PAT and was 16-0 with 9:25 left in the half.

Staunton's only score came in a hurry in the second quarter.

Junior running back Evan Tanner had the longest run of the day for Staunton.

After taking over the ball after the Fairfield kickoff, Tanner went 26-yards from their own 44 to the Mules' 30-yard line.

After losing five-yards on a swing pass, Bulldogs' junior quarterback Paxton Brown connected on a 30-yard pass down the left sideline to senior Lucas Coalson.

Coalson reached the Fairfield five-yard line, which set up a touchdown run by
Brown on the next snap.

Junior kicker Chase Bodner booted the PAT to make it 16-7 with 7:51 left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs best chance to switch the momentum around came on the ensuing kickoff.

Otey had trouble fielding the Bulldogs' squib kick, and Staunton sophomore Karter Davis recovered the fumble at the Mules' 35.

But the opportunity quickly went away.

Following a run by Tanner and a pass from Brown to wide receiver Weston Washburn to get the ball to the Mules' 14, Fairfield senior defensive back Austin Grieve stepped in front of Coalson and intercepted Brown, returning it to the Mules' 10-yard line.

Fairfield started the drive with 7:27 remaining in the half and ran 25-plays and picked up seven first downs.

Even though they didn't score, Fairfield ran all but :03.1 off of the second quarter clock before turning the ball over on downs after Best was sacked on a roll out on fourth-and-five on the Staunton 11.

The Bulldogs needed to get back into the game when they took the second half kickoff but they failed to get a first down on the first chance with the ball.

A fourth-and-seven pass from Brown to Coalson fell incomplete.

Staunton got one more defensive stop on the next Fairfield possession but it was on the 10th play of the drive that ended up with the Mules turning it over on a fourth down at the Staunton one-yard line.

Although the drive didn't produce points like the one in the second quarter, the Mules burned another five minutes off the game clock.

Fairfield's defense came up with another big stop, forcing a punt.

The home team took just three plays to cover 39-yard for its third touchdown.

Barner went the final 25-yards on a run down the right sideline.

The two-point PAT run by Otey made it 24-7 Mules with only 2:55 left in the third quarter.

Fairfield put together another quick stop on the next Bulldogs' drive, denying Staunton again on a fourth down.

Otey made his second defensive play of the contest, stopping reserve quarterback Joseph Leonard on a run up the middle short of a first down at the Staunton 49.

The Mules closed the scoring on a five-play, 51-yard drive highlighted by a pass from Best to senior running back Cooper Berg for 29-yards to the Bulldogs' eight.

Barner finished the drive and sealed the victory with an eight-yard touchdown run.

Berg pounded into the endzone on the two-point conversion for a 32-7 lead.

“I think all three of our backs (Barner, Otey, Berg) are over 100 carries for the season. We have the big play guy in Barner and everyone sees that but we also have two very capable guys in Berg and Otey and now we're starting to get Grieve back healthy.”

Staunton got all the way to the Fairfield 12 on its next possession but three straight incomplete passes turned the ball back over.

After the two quarterbacks traded interceptions, the Mules ran out the final 6:44 of the game to advance.

Berg was third on the chart running the ball for Fairfield with 56-yards on 16-attempts while catching a trio of passes for41-yards.

“They (opponents) can't key on somebody specific and our quarterback (Best), if we can keep him from cramping up, can make some plays with his legs, too,” added Coach Townsend.

Senior tight end Breychan Kovacich caught three Best passes for 49-yards.

Grieve led a strong defensive showing by the hosts with a pair of interceptions.

Staunton's Brown was just 8-of-19 for 92-yards and a pair of INT's.

Tanner led the team with eight rushing attempts for just 49-yards.

“We had a tremendous week of practice, it all goes back to that. We won this game Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That's when we won this game. We just came out here and executed to a tee. We're excited for the opportunity to go play Benton now.”

Fairfield gathered 27 first downs and rushed for 324-yards to just 57-yards for Staunton, whose season ended at 4-6 for head coach Zach Klaustermeier.

Klaustermeier, in his first season as Staunton head coach after coaching four years at Dupo, saw his team run just 34-plays from scrimmage compared to 81 by Fairfield.

“We just didn't execute on offense, we struggled offensively. I thought we had a great week (practice) on offense but we didn't execute today,” said Coach Klaustermeier. “Our three toughest games this year came down to size. We have to get into the weight room. It's got to be part of our culture moving forward.”

The Mules will play a Benton Rangers' team that finished the regular season at 8-1, 4-1 in the SIRR Mississippi Division which was good enough for a three-way tie for the league crown.

“We're finally healthy, too. That's a big part of this. We've been banged up really since Week 3 and we're just now having the team that we had in Week 1. We are playing our best football at the end of the year,” added Coach Townsend. “We knew we had to play well today and we did that.”