WRAPPED UP — Fairmont defensive end Hank Artz (15) sacks St. Peter quarterback Kole Guth for a loss of yards during high school football action Thursday night at Floyd B. Johnson Field in St. Peter. The Cardinals’ Dawson Gatewood (left) looks to assist on the tackle, while Fairmont’s Hudson Artz (24) and the Saints’ Jake Moelter (55) and Vinny Guappone (22) watch the play. (Photo by Greg Abel)

ST. PETER — The Zach Jorgensen-to-Eli Anderson aerial connection gave Fairmont a chance to exit Floyd B. Johnson Field with a victory, but St. Peter’s Ethan Grant and Vinny Guappone joined forces to deny the visiting Cardinals’ late heroics, 14-13, Thursday night in St. Peter.

Grant returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, and later grabbed a 60-yard scoring strike from quarterback Kole Guth to stake the Saints to a 12-7 lead. For good measure, Grant even made the block that allowed Guth to run in the 2-point conversion for a seven-point edge with 1:40 remaining in regulation.

Jorgensen, who finished with a game-best 173 passing yards, opened the Cardinals’ ensuing possession by zipping a 36-yarder to Anderson to gain the St. Peter 48-yard line with time winding down in regulation.

Fairmont advanced to the 33 via a 15-yard pass interference infraction on the Saints that negated Grant’s second pick of the night.

Jorgensen threaded the needle on a 33-yard pass just over the Saint defender’s shoulder for the Cardinal combination’s second TD of the game with 1:04 remaining in regulation.

Trailing by one, Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney called timeout to set up the potential game-winning 2-point conversion play. Anderson took the reverse toss to the right sideline, stopped and lobbed a pass to the right pylon that Guappone batted away to keep St. Peter in the driver’s seat at 14-13.

“We had the perfect call, we just didn’t execute. It’s that simple,” said Mahoney. “I thought St. Peter actually had more momentum than we did at that point in the game and we’re on the road, so we opted to go for the win and came up short.

“At the end of the day, our youth showed itself tonight. We made too many mistakes and were too inconsistent, but we’ll bounce back.”

Ironically, Fairmont took the opening kickoff and assembled a 12-play, 65-yard scoring drive to grab an early 7-0 lead.

Jorgensen, who rushed for a game-leading 100 yards, utilized his legs to reel off 49 yards on the ground before displaying his strong and accurate throwing arm. The junior quarterback rolled left out of the pocket and lofted a perfect 12-yard TD strike to Anderson in the back right corner of the end zone. Owen Burmeister kicked the PAT with 7:18 left in the first quarter.

Fairmont’s Artz brothers — end Hank and linebacker Hudson — combined to help stymie St. Peter’s offense for the entire first half, while Saints’ defensive lineman Johnny Miller and the blitzing linebacker tandem of Brogan Hanson and Ryan Sandland disrupted the Cardinals’ offense for the middle two quarters.

Anderson’s fifth interception of the season, on the heels of a tipped-ball battle with Grant, breathed new life into Fairmont’s initial drive of the third frame.

Anderson then made a one-handed 45-yard reception from Jorgensen before being knocked out-of-bounds via a TD-saving tackle by Saints safety Shea Hildebrant at the hometown team’s 5.

Grant then stepped in front of Jorgensen’s pass at the goal line, shifted gears and sped by the Cardinals along the Saints’ sideline for a 100-yard pick-6. St. Peter’s 2-point pass attempt failed to leave the home team trailing 7-6 with 5:38 left in the third quarter.

Grant later delivered another defensive gem by scooping up a Fairmont fumble, but the Cardinals’ defense stiffened and forced a punt near the end of the third quarter.

Anderson later tipped a Guth pass intended for Grant to Jorgensen, who pocketed the interception and returned it to the Saints’ 37. Miller and the St. Peter defense held its ground and forced another punt.

Guappone’s stop on Fairmont’s fumbled pitch for a 7-yard loss later created another Cardinal punting situation, with the Saints taking over at their own 25.

Guth, who threw for 159 yards, zipped a 15-yarder to Guappone to reach the 40. Three snaps later, Guth launched a perfectly-timed sideline spiral to the fleet-footed Grant for the stunning 60-yard TD to stake the Saints to a 12-7 lead with 1:40 remaining. Grant then sealed the outside defender on Guth’s 2-point run for a seven-point edge.

After Anderson’s second TD reception from Jorgensen 36 seconds later, Hanson recovered Fairmont’s onside kick to help St. Peter run out the final seconds of regulation.

Anderson made seven catches for 172 yards and two TDs for the Cardinals, while Grant finished with 85 yards and a score on three receptions for the Saints. Guappone garnered four catches for 45 yards.

Fairmont (1-2) plays host to Jackson County Central next Thursday night, while St. Peter (2-2) travels to Montgomery on Wednesday to face Tri-City United.

FMT 7-0-0-6–13

STP 0-0-6-8–14

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

FMT–Eli Anderson 12 pass from Zach Jorgensen (Owen Burmeister kick), 7:18.

2nd Quarter

No scoring.

3rd Quarter

SP–Ethan Grant 100 interception return (pass failed), 5:38.

4th Quarter

SP–Grant 60 pass from Kole Guth (Guth run), 1:40.

FMT–Anderson 33 pass from Jorgensen (pass failed), 1:04.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: Fairmont 12; St. Peter 10. Rushing: Fairmont 27-113; St. Peter 27-51. Passing: Fairmont 13-35-2-173; St. Peter 10-26-2-159. Fumbles-lost: Fairmont 2-1; St. Peter 1-0. Penalties: Fairmont 6-37; St. Peter 6-46.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Offense: Rushing: Jorgensen (FMT) 16-100; Vinny Guappone (SP) 10-25. Passing: Jorgensen (FMT) 13-35-2-173; Guth (SP) 10-26-2-159. Receiving: Anderson (FMT) 7-172; Guappone (SP) 4-45, Grant (SP) 3-85.

Defense: Interceptions: Tyson Schmitz (SP), Anderson (FMT), Grant (SP), Jorgensen (FMT). Fumble recovery: Grant (SP).