PROCTORVILLE — When someone finds themself in an unfavorable position, they're behind the 8-ball.
Well in the case of coach Michael Jackson and his Fairland Dragons, they found themselves both behind the 8-ball and in the shadow of their own goal post.
Backed up by poor starting field position in the third quarter and well-executed special teams play by West Muskingum, the Dragons fell to the Tornadoes 33-7 on Friday night in the Division V regional playoffs at Jim Mayo Memorial Stadium.
"It was a great game in the first half. We really gave up just the one big play," said Jackson. "Third quarter, I thought our defense played well. (West Muskingum) never really drove the ball on us, we just played with our backs to the end zone the whole time ."
The Dragons finish the season 10-2. West Muskingum moves to 9-2 and advances to the Region 19 semifinals where they will face Wheelersburg.
The first half saw both squads battle evenly. Each team had a touchdown wiped off the board via a penalty in the first half and had a field goal attempt blocked.
Fairland was able to move into scoring position in the second quarter after Jack Hayden made a leaping grab over two defenders on a 39-yard pass from Ethan Wall. But the drive stalled after a penalty wiped off a touchdown pass three plays later. Gabe Polcyn lined up for a 28-yard field goal to give the Dragons the lead, but the kick was blocked and West Muskingum at their own 22 with 4:53 remaining before halftime.
On the very next play, quarterback Jake Anton hit Carter Winland on a swing pass towards the far sideline and Winland cut up the sideline and went untouched for a 78 yard score. Silas Kuhn kicked the extra point to give the Tornadoes a 7-0 lead.
Anton finished the night with 149 yards passing and two touchdown passes. He also rushed for 40 more and scored on a 1-yard sneak in the fourth quarter to cap off the scoring.
The Tornadoes extended their lead on their second play of the third quarter. Anton faked a handoff to Winland, then handed the ball off to Carter Smith on a reverse, and the sophomore wideout went 67 yards up the visitor sideline to give the Tornadoes a 13-0 lead.
That's when the Dragons began to find themselves behind the 8-ball.
Following the score, Kuhn successfully executed an onside kick. But sacks from Will Callicoat and Garrett Cornwell helped to stall the drive. However, a West Muskingum pinned the Dragons at their own 9.
Fairland went three-and-out and got off a short punt to give the Tornadoes the ball at the Fairland 30.
Two plays later, Anton rolled out to his left and hit Braxton Brownrigg in the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown toss to extend the Tornadoes lead to 19-0 with 5:44 left in the third frame.
The Tornadoes recovered another onside kick. But despite another defensive stand by the Dragons, another West Muskingum punt pinned Fairland at their own 2 to begin their next offensive possession.
"We knew their onside kick and they have a great kicker who can do it all. Sometimes the ball just bounces wrong, " said Jackson.
Another three-and-out and a short punt set the Tornadoes with another short field. Two plays later, Winland scored on a 23-yard touchdown run to balloon the West Muskingum lead to 26-0.
Anton's punt backed Fairland up inside their own 2. The Dragons were forced to punt again and got off a 26 yard kick. WM took over at the Fairland 25 after the return.
The Dragons finally got favorable field position on their next drive and were able to put a dent in the scoreboard.
During the drive, Wall hit Keegan Smith for a 34 yards gain up the Fairland sideline. Then two plays later, Wall hit C.J. Graham on a fade for a 3-yard touchdown pass. Polcyn's extra point made it 26-7 with one quarter remaining.
Wall finished the night completing 23 of 38 passes for 280 yards. His top two targets on the night, Jack Hayden finished with 6 receptions for 110 yards and Xander Collins caught 7 balls for 107. Quentin Cremeans led the Dragons in rushing with 52 yards.
Fairland tried to mount a comeback in the fourth, but penalties and an interception by Coleman Loyd with 6:22 remaining thwarted the Dragons hopes at extending their season.
Despite the loss, Jackson praised his senior class for their successes the past four seasons.
"This was one of the best senior classes to come out of here. They've been great the last four years. To lose 16 players like Jack, Kam, Big-E, and Wall, they all will always have a special place in my heart forever."
W. Muskingum 0 7 19 7 = 33
Fairland 0 0 7 0 = 7
Second Quarter
WM — Carter Winland 78 pass from Jake Anton (Silas Kuhn kick), 4:39.
Third Quarter
WM — Carter Smith 67 run (run failed), 10:56.
WM — Braxton Brownrigg 31 pass from Jake Anton (pass failed), 5:44.
WM — Carter Winland 31 run (Silas Kuhn kick), 1:25.
Fa — C.J. Graham 3 pass from Ethan Wall (Gabe Polcyn kick), 0:06.
Fourth Quarter
WM — Jake Anton 1 run (Silas Kuhn kick), 2:07.
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WM Fa
First downs 14 16
Rushes-yards 34-186 27-76
Passing yards 149 283
Total yards 335 359
Cmp-Att-Int 9-16-0 23-38-1
Fumbles-lost 2-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 8-75 11-91.5
Punts-average 6-38.83 5-25.0
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Individual Leaders
RUSHING–West Muskingum: Carter Smith 1-67 TD, Carter Winland 21-89 TD, Jake Anton 9-40, Braxton Brownrigg 1-minus 3, Wes Houston 1-minus 1, Team 1-minus 6; Fairland: Jack Hayden 4-13, Lucas Bompus 1-minus 1, Davin Murray 1-3, Ethan Wall 6-9, Quinten Cremeans 15-52.
PASSING–West Muskingum: Jake Anton 9-16-0 149 2TD; Fairland: Ethan Wall 23-38-1 280 TD.
RECEIVING–West Muskingum: Coleman Loyd 1-3, Carter Winland 1-78 TD, Connor Hill 1-6, Tavin Bennett 1-5, Braxton Brownrigg 3-45 TD, Wes Houston 2-12; Fairland: Jack Hayden 6-110, Lucas Bompus 1-2, C.J. Graham 3-13, Xander Collins 7-107, Keegan Smith 3-46, Owen Burcham 1-12, Quentin Cremeans 2-minus 7.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–West Muskingum: Silas Kuhn 25 (blocked); Fairland: Gabe Polcyn 28 (blocked).
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