ABOVE: Fairmont Offensive lineman David Miller sets to block against a Worthington defender last Friday night at Mahoney Field.

FAIRMONT – There weren’t many mistakes to pinpoint during last Friday’s season opener for the Fairmont High School football team. The Cardinals dominated on all three phases of the game, controlling the lead from the start and eventually topping Worthington 47-0.

Now, Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney wants to see his team build off last week’s success heading into Friday’s matchup against undefeated New Ulm. The Eagles are coming off a 44-7 home victory over Austin last Thursday.

One key to success Mahoney stated was his team’s ability to take care of the ball. The Cardinals produced two giveaways midway through the second quarter last Friday against the Trojans.

Because Fairmont takes on a team that forced Austin into three interceptions and one fumble during last week’s contest, ball control will be essential for the Cardinal offensive unit all night.

“Bottom thing is we have to protect the football,” Mahoney said. “You can’t turn it over in a varsity football game like this, so we just have to make sure we hold onto the football this week. They took advantage of it last week against Austin, and we just can’t let that happen.”

The leaders so far this season for New Ulm’s defense have been defensive back Zachary Hubbard and linebacker Dirk Haynes. The duo powered the Eagles’ back end with two of the team’s three interceptions last Thursday against the Packers, both of which were returned for touchdowns.

Mahoney predicts the Eagles will employ a defensive scheme featuring three down linemen and four roaming linebackers, all of whom are capable of moving up and down the line of scrimmage to prevent run plays.

“Their alignment is pretty solid, I would say. They don’t make many mistakes,” Mahoney said. “We just have to play Fairmont Cardinal football.”

Fairmont will again rely on its offensive line to power all aspects of the game. While this unit showed off its power last Friday, Mahoney needs to see another solid performance this week.

“From our offensive line, I’d like to see some consistency out of them,” Mahoney said. “They did a great job last week, and I hope that we can do it again this week. So we aren’t going the highs and lows, the peaks and valleys. We just want to make sure we stay consistent in what we are doing.”

Ultimately, Mahoney wants to see another balanced attack from his offense. Taking what the defense gives them, the Cardinal head coach is more than comfortable switching up different game plans depending on what the opponent shows.

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles’ offense has leaned on the run game early this season.

Using their powerful offensive line, highlighted by LG Isaiah Friese and LT Tilken Fruhwirth, New Ulm will look to spread out the Cardinal defense with a series of outside runs, deploying Haynes and Hubbard as potential ball carriers.

Owen Castleman returns as quarterback for New Ulm. The sophomore got game reps against the Cardinals during last season’s contest on Sept 27.

Mahoney preaches another stout effort from his defense as one of the keys to a Friday night victory, particularly in his front-line defenders. Tackling, establishing a line of scrimmage, and forcing New Ulm into long passing situations are all things Mahoney has asked from this unit all week.

“Defensively, I thought we did a really good job stopping their [Worthington’s] run,” Mahoney said. “New Ulm this year is running the football more than they were in the previous years. Our front seven has to be outstanding. We can’t let them get outside on us, and we are just going to have to make tackles, that’s what it’s going to come down to.”

Friday night’s contest will again be at Mahoney Field on the campus of Fairmont High School. Kickoff is set to begin at 7 p.m.