Jorgensen, Fairmont pass Waseca’s test to advance to state

JANESVILLE -- Fairmont head football coach Mat Mahoney received the perfect birthday present 24 hours early.

Zach Jorgensen threw for a career-best 309 yards and three touchdowns, with Eli Anderson on the receiving end of six passes for 201 yards and two scores, while the Cardinals' defense delivered four red-zone stops to trigger a 27-6 triumph over the Waseca Bluejays in the Section 3 football finale Saturday in Janesville.

Fairmont (9-1) advances to the Class AAA state quarterfinals against Section 2 champion Dassel-Cokato (11-0) at 11 a.m. Saturday on the turf in Prior Lake. The Chargers gained the next round via a 45-10 trouncing of Litchfield on Friday night.

Waseca ended its season with a 9-2 record, with both losses coming at the hands of Fairmont. The Cardinals defeated the Bluejays, 28-15, on Sept. 24.

"Our defense set the early tone by stopping Waseca in the red zone (inside the 20-yard line) on the first possession of the game," said Mahoney, who earned the fifth state bid of his 15-year tenure as head coach just one day prior to turning 41.

After Jorgensen recorded a touchdown-saving tackle from his safety position on Waseca quarterback Oliver O'Brien's 36-yard run to the Fairmont 15, linebacker Gavin Rodning and end Hank Artz stymied the Bluejays to force a 28-yard field goal attempt.

Anderson utilized his speed from the outside to block Shaun Hulscher's 3-point kick to gain possession for the Cardinals with 6:39 left in the opening quarter.

"In order to make big plays, you've got to put the football in the hands of your best playmakers, and that's what we did," said Mahoney.

Facing third-and-8 at their own 27, Jorgensen zipped a spiral to David Maakestad on a crossing pattern and the junior split end outraced the Bluejays' secondary 73 yards to paydirt. Owen Burmeister kicked the PAT to give Fairmont a 7-0 lead with 3:34 left in the opening quarter.

Waseca then assembled an impressive 16-play march from its 35 to reach Fairmont's 1 before defensive lineman Gavin Junkermeier and safety Hudson Artz dropped the Bluejay rushers for back-to-back 1-yard losses to set up fourth-and-goal from the 3. O'Brien's ensuing pass was dropped in the end zone, turning the football over to the Cardinals on downs.

Jorgensen, who completed 9 of 14 passes for a staggering 34.4-yard clip on the game, spotted Anderson along the left sideline. Anderson hauled in the spiral and sprinted a school-record 96 yards for a TD before Burmeister kicked the extra point for a quick 14-0 lead with 6:16 showing before intermission.

Waseca displayed its mettle, however, by converting a pair of fourth-and-long situations to reach the scoreboard with 56 seconds left before halftime.

O'Brien, who threw for 117 yards, rolled to his right and connected on a 10-yarder Hulscher to convert a fourth-and-10 to the FHS 25.

Facing fourth-and-12 at the 27, O'Brien delivered a perfect post pass to Kaeden Johnson out of the backfield to trim Waseca's deficit to 14-6 with less than a minute to go in the first half.

Linebackers Aden Welcome and Rodning played key roles in Fairmont's defense denying Waseca any points after the Bluejays drove all the way to the Cardinals' 8. Hudson Artz knocked down the fourth-and-7 pass in the end zone to regain possession with 3:42 left in the third.

It took Jorgensen just five snaps to cover 92 yards, with Anderson's 84-yard catch-and-sprint capping the lightning-quick scoring strike for a 20-6 lead with only 49 seconds to go in the third.

Rodning's football-jarring hit and Hudson Artz's fumble recovery set up the Cardinals' final point production of the sectional championship game.

Jorgensen connected on a 29-yarder to Hudson Artz before Artz closed out the 10-play, 74-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard end-around toss play for six more points. Burmeister's kick made it 27-6 with 3:57 left in regulation.

"You've got to give credit to our coaching staff -- Brad Johnson, Brian Wille and John Kesselring -- for putting together a great game plan," said Mahoney. "Those three put the plan in place, and our players executed it to a tee today."

O'Brien, who topped all rushers with 116 yards on 18 carries, and running back Christian Rodriguez packed a 1-2 punch on the ground to move Waseca eventually to the Fairmont 14 with time winding down. The Cardinals' defense held again without allowing a point to seal the win.

Rodriguez finished with 88 yards on 16 carries for the Bluejays, while Isaac Potter made six catches for 72 yards.

James Johnson topped the Cardinals' running game with 48 yards on six totes.

Waseca 0 6 0 0 -- 6

Fairmont 7 7 6 7 -- 27

SCORING PLAYS

1st Quarter

FMT--David Maakestad 73 pass from Zach Jorgensen (Owen Burmeister kick), 3:34.

2nd Quarter

FMT--Eli Anderson 96 pass from Jorgensen (Burmeister kick), 6:16.

WAS--Kaeden Johnson 27 pass from Oliver O'Brien (kick failed), 0:52.

3rd Quarter

FMT--E. Anderson 84 pass from Jorgensen (kick failed), 0:49.

4th Quarter

FMT--Hudson Artz 3 run (Burmeister kick), 3:57.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: Waseca 19; Fairmont 7. Rushing: Waseca 43-237; Fairmont 21-73. Passing: Fairmont 9-14-0-309; Waseca 12-27-0-117. Fumbles-lost: Fairmont 1-0; Waseca 1-1. Penalties: Fairmont 5-42; Waseca 4-38.