ABOVE: Martin County West’s Pierce Rohman collects a touchdown pass from Maddex Faber during the first quarter of Friday night’s game in Trimont.

TRIMONT – The Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Power T running attack proved to be too powerful for Martin County West on Friday night at the Trimont Elementary football field. Running for over 340 yards with three different touchdown scorers, the Firebirds’ offensive scheme outpaced the Mavericks 42-22 in this clash between Mid-South Gold District opponents.

“It’s a tough loss, all the losses are tough,” MCW head coach Tom Elliot said. “We just couldn’t make the stops defensively. They [GFW] are very good at execution and diversion and run a really tight ship on offense… over the course of four quarters, we couldn’t get enough stops.”

The Firebirds got on the board immediately after taking the game’s first possession. In just two plays, fans got to witness the deception and trickery that comes from GFW’s offensive attack, as running back Garrett Stegeman crossed the pylon just 33 seconds into the contest.

MCW, like much of the first half, was able to throw a punch of its own.

Maverick quarterback Maddex Faber connected with wide receiver Pierce Rohman for a 19-yard touchdown connection on fourth down. After completing the 2-point conversion, things were again even.

GFW put the ball in quarterback Owen Swenson’s hands on the next possession, hoping for a response. Swenson showed his running ability for most of the following drive, scampering down to the Maverick 27-yard line before punching in a goal-line touchdown four plays later.

The back-and-forth first quarter continued with another touchdown pass from Faber on fourth down. Using a pump fake to bait the defense, the junior slinged a rainbow into the hands of wide receiver Preston Cepress for another score. Despite a failed two-point conversion, the Mavericks found themselves back in the game.

“We saw some matchups that we thought we could get after,” Elliot said regarding his team’s passing attack. “Maddex was putting the ball in really good spots for the receivers, and they were catching it and running with the ball. That was all good things to see.”

Sticking to their bread and butter, GFW used an eight-play scoring drive to take off five minutes of game clock in the second quarter. Stegeman, Kellen Nachreiner, and Swenson all tallied solid runs before Matthew Lee capped things off with another touchdown run.

“It’s all about disguise and hidden ball, and there are a whole lot of running backs going in different directions,” Elliot said on his opponent’s offensive attack. “It’s just very tough to stop. They’ve run it for a long time and their kids are very, very good at it.”

Faber made his first mistake of the game during the Mavericks’ next drive. Hoping to cut into the 24-14 deficit, MCW’s offensive unit crawled its way down to the Firebirds 14. Facing a third and five, Faber tossed an interception over the middle of the field after trying to avoid a sack, making it the first drive of the night without generating points.

An MCW defensive stand gave the ball back to Faber and his unit at their own 35-yard line, but the team was ultimately upheld again after getting forced to punt.

The Firebirds extended the lead even more in their next position, capitalizing on the handful of mistakes from MCW. Head coach Pat Hentges dialed up a play-action pass after tacking together strong runs throughout the night.

Swenson connected with Lee for a deep shot over the middle to push the lead to 16 before half, remaining a two-possession game after another failed two-point conversion.

Elliot’s team came out of the intermission with a flare in their eyes, determined to score immediately after receiving the third quarter kickoff. He put his offense in the hands of Faber once again, who delivered for the Mavericks their third score of the night.

A late hit was tacked onto the end of a quarterback scramble to put MCW deep into GFW territory. Facing another fourth-and-goal situation, Faber used his legs to avoid a handful of sacks from GFW’s defensive line, finding Cerpress on the left side of the endzone and completing his third touchdown pass of the night to make it 30-22.

But, like much of the night, GFW responded with authority.

The Firebirds tacked on two more touchdowns from Lee to stretch the lead 42-22, stringing together consecutive nine-play scoring drives to wear out the defense and put the final nail in the coffin.

“I felt we could move the ball offensively; we made some nice plays, but it just wasn’t enough,” Elliot said. “We got to be able to get the defense off the field, and we just couldn’t do that tonight.”

MCW (1-4) will gear up for a game against St. James Area next Friday night on the road. Kickoff is set to start at 3:15 p.m. at the St. James Varsity Football Field.