“Call it what you want: It’s kind of philosophically, we try to grind clock, though scoring on a pass play was big there to start off the game,” Miller said. “But defensively we try to make them earn it. They’re an explosive offense so we were trying to keep them to short passes and let them drive down the field. Yeah, that’s kind of how we like to do it, but really exceptional job tonight.”
Fairmont mostly controlled the first half, scoring early by air and later by land to open up a 14-0 lead.
After both teams went three-and-out on their first possession, the Firebirds struck first when Brock Baker found Kameron Thornton streaking down the sideline for a 45-yard touchdown, his third touchdown catch of the season and Baker’s fourth touchdown toss.
“It was nice,” Baker said. “Kam Thornton made a great play. He had a step on the guy, and I kind of just handed it to him, and he’s pretty fast. I just threw it up and he ran under it. So it’s a great play by Kam, and we’re hoping to get more of those.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Max Gehring’s PAT kick made it 7-0 Fairmont with 6:45 left in the first quarter.
After forcing a punt, the Firebirds got the ball back at their 14-yard line and went on a more Fairmont-like march, using 13 plays to cover 86 yards and get seven more points.
Logan Doty completed it with a 1-yard run, and Gehring made it 14-0 with 9:00 left in the second quarter before Springboro mounted its best drive of the half.
Utilizing the quick passing game, the Panthers moved to the Fairmont 21 with under 30 seconds left, but they had to settle for a 38-yard field goal attempt.
When that went wide left, the Panthers went to the locker room trailing 14-0, but Springboro picked up where it left off in the second half, taking the opening kickoff of the third quarter and driving 80 yards for a touchdown.
The drive started inauspiciously when Logan Wilkins threw Drew Balogh for a 2-yard loss on first down, but the Panthers recovered with an 18-yard pass from Max Miller to Jaxon Long to convert a third down.
That got them rolling on what would be a 17-play march that took nearly eight minutes off the clock and concluded with Miller finding Brayden Wilhite wide open on a play-action rollout for a 4-yard touchdown.
Miller was 26-of-38 for 188 yards. Long caught 15 passes for 102 yards.
Fairmont struck right back with its own 80-yard touchdown drive, this one punctuated by Doty’s 48-yard run on the final play of the third quarter. With the Firebirds facing a fourth-and-less-than-1, they lined up in a triple I and gave the ball to Doty, who went right up the middle, picked up a lead block and then sprinted untouched after breaking through the line. He finished with 127 yards and two TDs on 23 carries.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Springboro looked like it had something going on its ensuing possession until Wilkins threw Miller for a 12-yard loss on a sack. Miller scrambled to get the Panthers to a fourth-and-10, but his pass over the middle was intercepted by linebacker Kolby Wallace to end the drive.
Fairmont tacked on three more after that when Gehring made a 29-yard field goal with 4:25 to go.
“They’ve got a young quarterback who’s gonna be really good — already is — so getting pressure on him like that makes it tough,” Miller said. “I played quarterback a long time ago, and when you can’t get your feet set and throw, that’s a big difference. So Wilkins has some speed, (Konor) Haston over there on the other side, they do a good job with that. And the guys the interior did it all night, too. So good stuff.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Fairmont, Springboro, Centerville and Springfield all entered the night tied for first place in the league with 3-1 league records.
While the Firebirds were downing the Panthers, Centerville and Springfield were winning big.
The Elks downed Northmont 45-0 while the Wildcats crushed Beavercreek 60-8.
Springboro hosts Centerville next week while Fairmont will have another battle for first place on its hands when the Firebirds go to Springfield.
“Pretty exciting,” Miller said. “It’s what you want this time of year, to be going into Week 9 and playing for a championship. So, it’s pretty cool. Credit to our kids.
“This is one of the most process-oriented teams I’ve ever been a part of, and they just come back to work, and hopefully that’s what we keep doing. We can’t get ahead of ourselves. So as long as they stick to the process and keep doing that, you know, we should be in pretty good shape.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Wilkins, who has 11.5 tackles for loss including six sacks on the season, called being in the hunt for a conference title this late in the season “surreal.”
“It’s special,” the senior said. “It’s definitely special. But again, we come in, we’re all about the process. So I’m happy, but at the same time, every single day, we all come in as a team, we all work. We all put in the work.
“So, I’m not necessarily thinking, ‘We gotta win the GWOC,’ but I’m thinking, ‘We put in all the work so we can’t lose.’”
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