ABOVE: Fairmont running back Ty Tumbleson runs into Waseca’s Deron Russell during the first quarter of Friday night’s contest at Mahoney Field.

FAIRMONT – With the past three contests ending in one possession games, it was no surprise that Friday night’s showdown between Fairmont and Waseca was another nail-biting finish for the fans at Mahoney Field.

But this time it was the Bluejays coming out on top, scoring all of their points in the third quarter and taking down the Cardinals 21-14 during this September Southeast Central District, Red Subdistrict matchup.

“You know, I thought we just didn’t have a fire tonight, and they [Waseca] had a lot of energy, kudos to them,” Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney said. “But we just didn’t have that fire in our bellies that we normally have, and they [Waseca] were ready to play and did a nice job.”

Following Fairmont’s opening drive of the game, it was no shock the Bluejays defense was doing everything in their power to contain the explosive Cardinal run game.

Mixing in different defensive schemes and making an emphasis at the line of scrimmage, Waseca head coach Brad Wendland was trying his best to force the Cardinal offense to be one dimensional throughout the night.

Fairmont ended the night with 55 rushing yards compared to Waseca’s 220. Cardinals quarterback Joe Long finished the game with 127 yards through the air with two passing touchdowns.

The Cardinals started the game off with a solid drive, using a nice mix of running and passing plays to steadily move the sticks. But despite gaining 40 yards on 13 plays, Fairmont’s momentum was ultimately stopped short after quarterback Joe Long couldn’t connect with Owen Terfehr on a timely fourth and six.

Waseca responded with an aggressive run-attack of their own on the very next possession, a sign for what was to come for the rest of the evening.

Using a mix of quarterback Kellen Klinger and running back Jordan Johnston, the Blue Jays churned their way down to the Fairmont 7-yard line at the start of the second quarter.

But a bobbled snap from Klinger put the ball on the ground, placing the ball in defensive end Nolan Anderson’s hands and giving possession back to the Cardinals.

Fairmont responded well, following the turnover with a nearly eight minute, 15-play drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown connection from Long to tight end Preston Geerdes, who skied over a pair of Waseca defenders to complete the impressive reception.

While the ground game wasn’t working, it was the talents of Long that continued to propel the Cardinals to the early 7-point lead. The senior made a handful of plays to keep the drive alive, scrambling for a pair of 15-plus yard runs and connecting with wide receiver Brayden Williamson on a pivotal fourth and eight.

“I really thought offensively we did some nice stuff, and they [Waseca] kind of took our run game there a little bit,” Mahoney said. “For us to move the ball in some different aspects, it was great to see.”

Mahoney’s defense clamped up their pressure on the Waseca defense the next possession.

The Cardinals were able to get one final stop before the break despite Waseca having four minutes to put some points on the board.

A sack from defensive lineman Mathew Martin and an incompletion between Klinger and wide receiver Cyrett Long turned the ball over on downs for the Bluejays. Following a knee from Long the very next play, Fairmont went into the locker room retaining their lead.

However, that lead was quickly cut into during the first handful of seconds in the third quarter.

Star Waseca wide receiver and defensive back Deron Russell had ultimately been quite up to this point. But after receiving a squib kick on the third quarter opening kickoff, the North Dakota State commit danced through the Fairmont special teams while using his speed to take the ball 90-yards to the end zone.

Despite a blocked point-after, the Blue Jays found themselves immediately back into the contest.

Fairmont responded quickly with another scoring drive fueled by Long, extending the lead back to 14-6.

After a 10-yard bruising carry from running back Ty Tumbleson placed the Cardinals at the Waseca 20, Long found wide receiver Tavian Harvey on a go route deep in the end zone. Jumping over two white jerseys, Harvey came down with the reception for what was his fourth touchdown of the season.

However, just like the entire night, Waseca was able to bounce back with yet another explosive play on their very next possession.

This time it was Johnston who found the end zone. Facing a third and 20, the running back took the outside run past Fairmont’s defense and completed the 76-yard touchdown.

The Blue Jays failed to tie the game with a missed two-point conversion, but again found themselves right back in the contest.

Both teams traded a pair of punts on their respective next drives.

This put the Fairmont offense pinned back inside their own 1-yard line on their next possession. Facing second and 10, Long was unable to escape the end zone before being tackled by a swarm of Bluejay defenders, giving Waseca two points and the ball back with four minutes left in the third quarter.

Waseca took advantage of the free kick, returning the ball to Fairmont’s 44-yard line and putting themselves in position to take the lead for the first time.

A pair of Klinger runs put the offense inside the five-yard line. Johnston punched in the end zone for his second score of the game to give the Bluejays a 21-14 lead.

Fairmont ultimately failed to tie the score during their next two drives.

Getting the ball back at their 9-yard line with three minutes remaining, the Cardinal offense stalled again. Long was unable to connect with Terfehr on a fourth and 21 after scrambling to his left, giving the ball back to the Bluejays with one minute remaining.

Waseca knelt the clock away on their next possession, ending this year’s regular season matchup with a victory.

“To their credit, I thought we just started to slowly run out of gas,” Mahoney said. “Part of that is that they had less guys going both ways, so their defensive line was staying fresh and we had multiple guys going. It just caught up to us.”

Fairmont (2-1) will play the first road game of the season next Friday. The Cardinals travel to the Austin Wescott Sports Complex to take on the Packers. Kickoff is set to begin at 7 p.m.

“We got to get back to our bread and butter of Fairmont football and running the football,” Mahoney said. “At the end of the day, they [Waseca] did a nice job of taking that off and we are going to learn from it. We are going to be able to evaluate the film and go from there.”