11/05/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
FAIRFIELD - Things started out really well for Fairfield and head coach Justin Townsend on Saturday afternoon against Pana in the second round of the IHSA 2A Playoffs.

Taking the opening kickoff, which was an onside kick attempt by Pana, the Mules did exactly what they wanted to do.

They moved the ball down the field in a methodical way running the ball while taking a bit over seven minutes off of the clock.

The game plan worked like a charm.

A touchdown pass from senior quarterback Eric Rodgers to senior tight end Luke Duckworth with 4:45 left closed the 64-yard, 16-play march that staked Fairfield to a 6-0 lead.

Unfortunately for the Mules when Pana got the ball for the first time senior quarterback Max Lynch literally took command of the game.

Lynch passed for 202-yards (on 14-of-15 attempts) and five touchdowns while rushing for 267-yards and two TD's in a 68-50 win where the Panthers led by as many as 28-points for most of the second half.

His totals for the season are 'eye-popping' to say the least.

Rushing (2,376) and passing (1,408) he now has 3,784-yards of total offense for the 10-1 Panthers.

After dropping the first game of the season to South Central Conference rival Vandalia, Pana and head coach Trevor Higgins have won 10-consecutive.

“Max is a great athlete, a great kid and has a great line in front of him,” said Coach Higgins. “He made the big plays today. He's a real shifty kid. He doesn't look like it when you first see him but as soon as he takes off to run he is shifty and good out in space. He has great field vision. He's just a great player and great kid.”

Unfortunately for Coach Townsend and his Mules, their five-game win streak was snapped as the campaign ends at 7-4.

Quarterback Eric Rodgers closed out his prep football career with a 12-of-19, 136-yard, four touchdown performance passing and the senior rushed 11-times for 59-yards and two other TD's.

He also scored on a 32-yard run in the first half.

Luke Sork, a junior running back for Fairfield, led the rushing attack for the Mules with 11-rushes for 112-yards and a TD.

Sork was also the top defender for the Mules with nine solo tackles.

Duckworth caught three of the Rodgers' touchdowns and senior Reegan Taylor caught the other scoring strike with four completions for 55-yards.

“They're a very good football team and obviously Lynch is the main guy but they have a lot of pieces to go with him,” said Coach Townsend. “I think what I was most impressed with was that they're really good up front. They don't make a lot of mistakes, there are not a lot of missed blocking assignments. They have a lot of movement and they stay on their blocks.”

On this day, 50-points wasn't enough as the Fairfield defense was little more than a slight speed bump to Lynch and Company.

Pana senior wide receiver/running back Carter Beyers caught six of the Lynch lobs for 120-yards and a pair of TD's

Beyers was also productive on the ground with 56-yards on 10-attempts.

Ace Armstrong, another of the seniors for Pana, is a running back who rushed twice for 29-yards and caught four Lynch passes for another 29 with two touchdowns.

Receiver Haden Stark, a 6-0 senior had three receptions for 38-yards and a TD.

Stark also ended up with a 75-yard kickoff return for the final tally for the Panthers late in the fourth quarter.

Senior Monte Weddle and sophomore Isaiah Harbert each scored a touchdown on the ground for Pana.

Believe it or not, there was a defensive standout for Pana even though they gave up 50-points.

Mason Shoraga, a 6-1 senior defensive back, made 10 tackles and came up with an interception of a Rodgers' pass in the second quarter.

The turnover led to a Panthers' touchdown to give the squad a 22-point halftime lead.

Harbert, Armstrong and Weddle also were main cogs in the defense that played just well enough to allow the Lynch performance to turn into a second round win.

“We thought our speed would be the difference today. We just used our speed to get outside and were able to run around and punch it in most times on offense,” said Coach Higgins. “It's not just Max. We have play-makers all around him. When he is tired and needs a break we have a bunch of guys we can get the ball to.”

The first Pana drive, after the Mules had milked the clock, took just 2:01.

After a return by Armstrong to the Fairfield 43, it took just six plays to move into scoring position with runs by Lynch and a pass completion by the senior QB to Stark to get to the Fairfield three for a first-and-goal.

Harbert scored on the next play on a run to the right and into the endzone.

Lynch ran in the two-point PAT for a Pana 8-6 lead.

Following an unsuccessful onside kick attempt, Pana got the ball at the Mules 47.

Two- straight Lynch completions to Beyers and Armstrong set up a 28-yard touchdown pass from Lynch to Stark.

A successful PAT kick made it 55-28.

A three-yard TD pass from Lynch to Armstrong and the kickoff return by Stark closed out the Pana scoring while Rodgers gave Duckworth his third TD catch.

A Rodgers' two-yard touchdown run closed the game and the season for the Mules with :27.2 left.

Total yards Pana out gained the hosts 568-398, out rushed them 366-262 and had 32 first downs compared to 21 for the Mules.

Coach Higgins' team only faced four third downs in the game and converted all four of them.

The only fourth down they had was the botched fake punt.

Fairfield converted all five of their fourth down tries but were just 6-of-14 on third down.

The last two trips to southern Illinois in the 2A playoffs ended for the Panthers with lopsided losses at Nashville (41-19 in 2019, 43-19 2021).

Saturday, however, was a different story.

“I know, right?” said Coach Higgins when asked about not playing the Hornets. “But the field reminded me of it. We were hoping for a good, quality field and this is a great facility and great field.”

The Panthers advance to the quarterfinals to face unbeaten and top-ranked Decatur St. Teresa next Saturday at 1:00 PM at St. T.