ABOVE: The Fairmont High School football team celebrates in the middle of the field before Friday night’s contest against Belle Plaine at Mahoney Field. Photo by Vanessa Schultze

FAIRMONT – Amongst all the homecoming week festivities surrounding Fairmont High School this week, football head coach Mat Mahoney had one goal when things were all said and done: to win a football game.

On Friday night at Mahoney Field, the Cardinals (4-2) did just that, taking down Belle Plaine (2-4) 35-0 after using a fourteen-point second quarter to power through the rest of the contest.

It was another stellar performance from Fairmont senior quarterback Joe Long under center. Long finished the night with 13 completions for 161 yards and five total touchdowns, contributing to every point that the Cardinals put up on the scoreboard.

Senior tailbacks Dakota Wiley and Ty Tumbleson spit carries on the night in the Cardinal backfield, helping the Fairmont run game tally up 153 yards on 42 carries.

“It was a great night and a fun week. I thought our kids did an awesome job kind of holding their composure for homecoming,” Mahoney said. “We came out and just did a lot of great things. We didn’t make very many mistakes.”

After both teams went three-and-out on their respective first possessions to begin the game, Fairmont tacked together a 40-yard scoring drive to get on the board. Facing a fourth-and-goal on the 11-yard line, the Cardinals were able to draw Belle Plaine’s defense offsides to inch their way closer to the goal line.

Long used this to his advantage, scrambling to his right to buy more time before connecting with junior Owen Terfehr in the back of the end zone. Long tacked on two more points after using a well-designed fake extra point attempt that found junior Vincent Schultz for the easy conversion.

The Cardinals’ defense was stout all around early and often against the Tigers’ offensive attack. Following a Fairmont fumble on the 6-yard line, their next possession, this unit tightened things up for Belle Plaine quarterback Reed Creighton, who saw nothing but Cardinal jerseys on a third-down incompletion that Wiley nearly intercepted in the secondary.

“It [Fairmont’s defense] was outstanding,” Mahoney said. “I think we maybe gave up two first downs in the first half, and I think they probably ran 10 plays or less. Our defense was just outstanding. I thought we lined up correctly and never really gave them any type of option to throw or run the football.”

Fairmont’s offense didn’t fail to punch another score into the end zone on their next possession. Long found Terfehr found a pair of solid completions to put his team deep into Tiger territory. He connected with Schultz again on a fourth-and-8 for a 10-yard touchdown pass, using a fake screen pass to clear the way for the Cardinal tight end’s second appearance in the end zone.

Mahoney and his coaching staff maintained an aggressive mindset after their offense regained possession with less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Taking a shot to the end zone, Long found Terfehr on a go-route that put the Cardinals on the 3-yard line. Junior Travon Harvey made it a three-score game after catching an out-route from Long and muscling his way into the end zone moments before the halftime horn went off.

“That last one [touchdown] right before halftime I thought was huge for us,” Mahoney said. “You get up 22-0 at half, and it really kind of sparked our guys. It really brought a lot of life to them.”

Fairmont extended its lead on a quick five-play drive with four minutes left in the third quarter. Taking advantage of horse-collar and roughing the passer penalties, Wiley churned out consecutive carries for 17 yards to put the Cardinals near the goal line. Long finished things off with yet another rushing touchdown on the season, powering his way through a stacked Tiger defensive front and putting seven more on the scoreboard.

The final nail in the coffin came in the fourth quarter with eight minutes remaining. A tired Belle Plaine defense started getting leaned on by the Fairmont offense, which worked its way down to the 10-yard line following five consecutive carries from Wiley.

On fourth-and-8, senior Benet Mathiason leaked his way out of the backfield with Long rolling to his right. The fullback churned his way through a handful of Tiger defenders before falling in the end zone with 48 seconds remaining.

Fairmont will continue its season next Friday in Montgomery against Tri-City United High School. Kickoff is set to begin at 7 p.m.