FAIRMONT — The daunting task became a coming-of-age reality for the retooled Fairmont football team Friday night.

Sophomore quarterback Zach Jorgensen threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another score, while the Cardinals’ defense produced a 3-to-1 edge in turnovers to engineer a 20-14 down-to-the-wire upset of the Class AAA No. 2-ranked Waseca Bluejays at Mahoney Field.

“I’m sure there were quite a few people who thought we didn’t have a chance tonight, but going into the game, the guys in our lockerroom believed we could win and that’s what matters most,” said Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney, whose lineup stunned the then-Class AAAA No. 5-ranked Bluejays 26-21 during Week 3 last season. “Obviously, Waseca’s a quality football program, so we knew it’d be a battle and it came down to the final play.”

Ahead 20-14 on the heels of Jorgensen’s 1-yard TD run with exactly 2 minutes remaining in regulation, linemen Josh Heinze and Jacob Rahn, and linebackers Gavin Rodning and Michael Johnson, spearheaded Fairmont’s late defensive stand to deny Waseca a chance to tie and/or win the game in the waning seconds.

Bluejays quarterback Ryan Dufault, who topped all rushers with 138 yards, and running back Denver Daniel combined for 36 of the visitors’ 45-yard march to the Cardinals’ 20 with 24 seconds to go.

After Rodning & Co. halted Dufault for no gain on second-and-7, the Waseca quarterback tossed an incompletion to leave only 1 second on the scoreboard still at the 20. Defensive backs Cale Steuber and Hudson Artz tipped away the final pass to Kyreese Willingham at the pylon to seal the win.

“I thought our fake-punt play was a turning point in the game,” said Mahoney. “Our line did a good job of giving (punter) Jack (Hested) time to set up in the pocket and he executed the throw to Cale.”

Facing fourth-and-2 at midfield, Hested zipped a 10-yard completion to Steuber to keep the late fourth-quarter drive alive with the score tied at 14-all.

After a procedure penalty, Jorgensen then displayed his elusiveness and speed by bouncing a quarterback keeper around left end and sprinted to the Waseca 15.

Rodning then pounded out 8 of his 44 rushing yards to create a third-and-2 situation at the Bluejays’ 7. Jorgensen then flipped a pitch to Steuber in motion and the Cardinals’ receiver tossed a 6-yard screen pass to Caden Baarts to reach the 1.

Jorgensen then nudged his way across the goal line behind left guard Jacob Rahn and the Fairmont offensive line for the go-ahead 1-yard TD. Waseca nose guard Tyler Gerdes blocked the PAT to keep the differential at 20-14 with 2 minutes to go.

“It was good to see our defense produce three turnovers tonight. That’s kind of been its MO (modus operandi) the last couple of seasons,” said Mahoney.

Steuber garnered a first-quarter interception to halt Waseca’s initial drive of the game at the Fairmont 15.

Bluejays’ defensive end Marcus Hansen single-handedly forced a three-and-out sequence for the Cardinals to regain possession via a Fairmont punt.

This time, Dufault zipped a 15-yard strike to Tave Ball before slashing and juking his way 28 yards to the Fairmont 5. Blake Wendland covered the final 2 yards on a plunge over the right side. Dufault then zipped a 2-point conversion pass to Shaun Hulscher for an 8-0 lead with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.

Fairmont quickly answered, however, as Jorgensen fired a 19-yard completion to Blake Buntjer before Rodning hammered out 9 yards up the middle. Jorgensen then scrambled for 21 of his team-leading 101 rushing yards before connecting with Wyatt Frank on a 9-yarder, a 23-yard shot put heave to Tyson Kube and a 9-yard TD screen pass to Baarts. Hested kicked the PAT to trim the Cardinals’ deficit to 8-7 with 8:56 left in the second quarter.

End Zach Soelter’s sure-handed tackling and Heinze’s quarterback sack forced a Waseca punt on the ensuing series to regain possession for Fairmont.

Jorgensen and Rodning combined to cover 43 yards on the ground before Jorgensen lofted a 4-yard TD to the 6-foot-5 Buntjer in the end zone. Hested’s PAT kick made it 14-8 with 4:08 left in the opening half.

Cardinals’ defensive end Wyatt Frank recovered a Bluejays’ fumble, but one snap later, Dufault intercepted Jorgensen at his own 41. Soelter then delivered a momentum-thwarting pick at the Fairmont 23 with 27 seconds remaining before halftime to keep the home team ahead by six.

Dufault engineered Waseca’s 10-play, 59-yard scoring drive that culminated in Daniel’s 3-yard TD sprint around right end with 6:37 remaining in regulation. Eli Anderson tackled Dufault on the conversion run after the long snap sailed high.

Fairmont (2-1) travels to Montgomery next Friday night to face Tri-City United, while Waseca (2-1) hits the road to Jordan.

Waseca 8 0 0 6 — 14

Fairmont 0 14 0 6 — 20

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

WAS–Blake Wendland 2 run (Shaun Hulscher pass from Ryan Dufault), 0:41.

2nd Quarter

FMT–Caden Baarts 9 pass from Zach Jorgensen (Jack Hested kick), 8:56.

FMT–Blake Buntjer 4 pass from Jorgensen (Hested kick), 4:08.

3rd Quarter

No scoring.

4th Quarter

WAS–Denver Daniel 3 run (run failed), 6:37.

FMT–Jorgensen 1 run (kick failed), 2:00.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: Waseca 18; Fairmont 9. Rushing: Waseca 45-229; Fairmont 26-148. Passing: Fairmont 10-14-1-81; Waseca 7-13-2-57. Fumbles-lost: Fairmont 0-0; Waseca 1-1. Penalties: Fairmont 5-40; Waseca 4-31.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Offense: Rushing: Dufault (WAS) 26-138, Daniel (WAS) 11-66; Jorgensen (FMT) 13-101, Gavin Rodning (FMT) 10-44. Passing: Jorgensen (FMT) 8-12-1-65, Hested (FMT) 1-1-0-10, Cale Steuber (FMT) 1-1-0-6; Dufault (WAS) 7-12-2-57. Receiving: Steuber (FMT) 3-14, Buntjer (FMT) 2-23, Baarts (FMT) 2-15; Tave Ball (WAS) 3-23, Kyreese Willingham (WAS) 2-19.

Defense: Interceptions: Steuber (FMT), Dufault (WAS), Zach Soelter (FMT).

Fumble recovery: Wyatt Frank (FMT).