‘Held the rope’
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FAIRMONT - Tri-City United needed one drive. One drive to potentially put itself ahead of a Fairmont football team clinging to a lead late in Wednesday night's fourth quarter. A touchdown would be the equalizer. But a converted point-after attempt? That would give the Section 3AAA-leading team to its sixth win of the season.
The Titans did just that. Taking the ball 68 yards, Tri-City United's seven-play drive ended with Parker O’Malley's second rushing touchdown of the contest on a fourth-and-1 conversion. Chase Miller drilled the ensuing PAT with 15 seconds left to seal a 26-25 victory at Mahoney Field.
Tri-City United moves to 6-1 while maintaining its top spot in the QRF (Quality Results Formula) section standings. The Cardinals snapped their previous three-game winning streak and sit at 4-3 with one week left in the 2026 regular season.
"It's not so often that a high school team goes 60-something yards with a minute and a half and only one timeout. Credit to TCU. They have a really good football team, but so do we, and I thought our guys just played outstanding," Fairmont football head coach Mat Mahoney said.
Fairmont walked into halftime facing a 13-6 deficit. Aside from a handful of Titan penalties that helped quarterback Jensen Livesay's 12-yard touchdown run, the Cardinals offense hadn't done much to sustain drives.
Tri-City United, meanwhile, scored on two possessions thanks to explosive plays by Toren Kelly and Keegan O'Meara. O'Meara capped off the first series with a sweeping run on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line. He later took a Kellen Jirik pass 57 yards after running a quick out route and seeing nothing but green grass ahead.
"Going into halftime, we gave up two big plays," Mahoney said. "We were down, and I could just tell our dobbers were down. But the theme coming into this week was, 'Hold the rope.'"
The mantra symbolizing teamwork and commitment was immediately displayed in Fairmont's third-quarter opening drive. Travohn Harvey started the half with a lengthy kickoff return that placed the Cardinals in Tri-City United territory. Livesay's 10-yard run to the left was followed by tight end Preston Geerdes receiving a pass near the goal line. The senior quarterback did the rest on his first of three quarterback sneak touchdowns.
O’Malley walked into the end zone after a previous six-minute, 11-play drive put the Titans back ahead. Still, the second-half story showed that Mahoney's team never wavered after getting punched in the mouth. They always had a response.
Two of Livesay's biggest throws drove Fairmont to Tri-City United's 15-yard line on the following series. A deep crossing pattern from Brayden Williamson set up a beautiful go-route by Harvey down the right sideline for 40 yards. Consecutive Livesay runs tied the game at 19. Both Fairmont scoring drives totaled 100 yards on 14 plays. It was a complete shift from the Cardinals’ opening-half scoring attack.
"One thing that our guys have done a great job with is knowing how to respond," Mahoney said. "They just never gave up, and it again goes back to that 'Hold the rope' mentality coming into this week."
Fairmont forced its second and third fumbles of the contest and positioned itself to take the lead. Tri-City United initially lost possession while facing a first-and-10 on the Fairmont’s 11-yard line. Nine plays later, a backfield exchange between Jirik and Toren Kelly gave the Cardinals possession at midfield with 4:54 left in the fourth.
The series started with another Livesay-to-Harvey connection, this time for 14 yards, moving Fairmont inside Tri-City United's 20. Livesay's 9-yard sneak on second-and-3 set a trend for the rest of the drive. Fairmont trusted the strength of its offensive line and 6'4" quarterback. They continued using the up-the-middle push three more times before crashing into the end zone. The Cardinals’ three-and-a-half-minute scoring drive purposefully left little time for its opponent to strike back.
"Our identity is running the football. In my 20 years of coaching at Fairmont, we've never been able to run quarterback sneak the way that we're doing this right now," Mahoney said. "We've been on the opposite side of that, and it just takes the wind out of you. We had plenty of time. We were in no rush. So I just said, 'Let's just quarterback sneak,' and we did."
Brock Rodning caught a pair of quick Livesay throws for 14- and 10-yard gains, setting Fairmont up for one last end zone attempt. A deep toss for Harvey down the sideline hit the ground as time expired.
Fairmont's final game of the 2026 regular season takes place next Thursday against St. Peter (4-3) at Mahoney Field. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
"At the end of the day, this was a great high school football game. We were just on the short end of it by 20 seconds. But that's why you play for four quarters and 48 minutes," Mahoney said. "I thought our guys held the rope and played their tails off. I'm so proud of them."