ABOVE: Fairmont quarterback Joe Long tucks and runs looking for a gap in the Albert Lea defense in a South District, Central Subdistrict football game on Friday, Sept. 14.

FAIRMONT – The now 4-0 Fairmont Cardinal football team is getting ready to take on St. Peter at Mahoney Field Friday night. Looking to keep the win streak alive, the Cardinals are making adjustments on both sides of the ball looking to fix any gaps they see in their game plan.

Fairmont is coming off of a 47-7 victory over Albert Lea in which Joe Long completed 14 of 19 passes for 188 yards in the air and one touchdown, Nolan Schultze caught six passes for 83 yards, Tavian Harvey caught three for 25 yards and Brett Williams grabbed one for 55 yards leading to a touchdown. The run game featured Elijah Johnson who ran for 161 yards on 19 carries while adding three more touchdowns to his season total, while Long ran for two touchdowns of his own and Ty Tumbleson found his way in for a 9-yard rushing touchdown.

“We still want to continue to try and establish the run,” Fairmont football head coach Mat Mahoney said. “That’s kind of been our bread and butter. We need to make some adjustments because we know that teams are going to start loading up the box on us. So that kind of opens up the door if we’re going to take some shots down the field or some play action pass into the flat. We’ve just got to kind of change our mindset here of trying to adjust to what teams are going to continue to do against us.”

The Cardinals dominant run game has led to teams starting to blitz early and often, though it has not completely stopped the rushing attack of the team and it has opened up a lot of passing lanes for the receivers to find space.

“I think just overall in our full passing scheme that we do and the different formations that we have, I think Joe is just getting more comfortable with every day of practice and every game experience. He’s just getting more comfortable and he’s doing a great job,” said Mahoney.

The Cardinal defense has been a force to be reckoned with so far this year, not having given up more than 13 points in a game thus far. The teams that have managed to score have done so primarily through the air.

“You’ve got to tip your hat to those other schools for taking those shots down the field,” said Mahoney “Our guys have been in pretty good position, but the receivers are also doing double moves on us. So, you know, it’s very hard as a defensive back to cover that double move. We’re working on our pass coverage for a little bit.”

With it being Farimont’s Homecoming week, keeping the team focused has been a major priority for the Cardinal coaching staff due to the numerous off-field distractions.

“The guys are out late going to events. There’s just it’s just more of a wear and tear on [the team] socially at the school,” said Mahoney. “There’s all kinds of dress up days and lots of stuff going on for the kids, which is great. But it’s also my job to kind of keep them in line on the football field.”

The team is dealing with a couple of injuries heading into week four of their season. Trevor Maakestad is out with a broken collarbone and Benet Mathiason has a broken fibula.

“We’re a little banged up now,” said Mahoney. “It’s kind of the next next guy up mentality, you know, and we have guys that are stepping up and willing to do this stuff for us. So it’s an unfortunate part of the game.”

The last time these teams met the Cardinals came away with a 21-0 victory, and they are hoping to come away with a similar result Friday.