Week 7 Recap - TCU 26, Fairmont 25

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By Charlie Sorrells

Web Prep Writer

FAIRMONT – Sectional football rivals Tri-City United and Fairmont traded great play after great play right down to the final second during Week 7 prep football action Wednesday night at Thomas Mahoney Field.

Quarterback Jensen Livesay’s game-best fourth touchdown run – a 1-yard keeper – rallied the cardiac Cardinals to a 25-19 lead over the Titans with 1:29 remaining in regulation, but TCU maintained its composure with only one timeout left.

Quarterback Kellen Jirik zipped two quick strikes each to Keegan O’Meara and Brody Factor – including a clutch 39-yarder to O’Meara – to reach Fairmont’s 6 with 20 seconds to go. Facing fourth-and-1 and no timeouts, TCU head coach Matt Collins called Parker O’Malley’s number and the fullback pounded across the goal line to knot the game at 25-all with 14 ticks on the scoreboard. 

Chase Miller kicked the game-deciding PAT to help the Titans exit Fairmont with a 26-25 victory.

“It’s still a loss and I don’t like it, but the way we played toe-to-toe with TCU tonight proved we can play with anyone on our schedule,” said Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney, whose team received 133 passing yards and a team-best 62 and four scores on the ground from the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Livesay. “At the end of the day, you have to tip your hat to TCU. They showed their resilience by never losing their focus and battled us right to the last second.”

“Obviously, there was a lot of pressure on converting that final (PAT) kick, but we’ve been there before just last week against New Ulm,” said Miller, a forward on the Titans’ soccer team, who also joined the football team only 3 weeks ago to help the kicking game.

Down 13-6 at intermission, Travohn Harvey breathed new life into the Cardinals by returning the third-quarter kickoff 55 yards to the Titans’ 30. Livesay mixed an 11-yard keeper in between 4-yard completions to Brayden Williamson and Preston Geerdes to set up his 1-yard push to paydirt. Fairmont missed the PAT kick to trail 13-12 with 7:12 left in the third.

Jirik – who completed 11 of 15 passes for a game-high 190 yards and one TD – utilized back-to-back 22-yard connections with Factor to erase TCU’s second-and-33 hole created by consecutive holding penalties during the ensuing series.

O’Meara – who topped the Titans’ 201-yard rushing performance with 63 on 10 totes – later reeled off a defender-dragging 13-yard run to the 4 before O’Malley hammered into the end zone on a next-play sweep for a 19-12 lead at the 1:11 mark in the third. Williamson and Mason Bicknase denied the Titans’ 2-point run to keep the Cardinals’ deficit at 7.

Livesay’s 15-yard spiral to Williamson and a 40-yard missile to the fleet-footed Harvey reached TCU’s red zone before Livesay muscled his way across the goal line from 6 yards out. Boe Kolbe kicked the PAT for a 19-all tie with 10:34 left in regulation.

Williamson’s ensuing strip-and steal of the football on a Titan rush at the Cardinals’ 3 gave Fairmont new life with 7:08 remaining in the game. O’Malley and the TCU held and forced a punt to regain the football, but Ethan Farnum later recovered a Titan fumble at the visitors’ 49 to set up Livesay’s late offensive heroics and go-ahead 1-yard TD rumble at 1:29.

Toren Kelly reeled off a 54-yard rumble to set up the Titans’ game-opening scoring drive via O’Meara’s 1-yard sweep dash and Miller’s extra-point kick at 7:44 in the first frame.

Fairmont converted three TCU penalties into 42 of its ensuing 65-yard countering drive before Livesay steamrolled his way into the end zone from 12 yards out. A low snap on the PAT kick left the Cardinals trailing by one at the 3:09 mark.

Despite Cardinal linebacker Aaron Becker’s football-jarring hit and Harvey’s fumble recovery, Fairmont could not capitalize on the plus-one miscue near the end of the second quarter. After the Cardinals’ next punt, Jirik needed only one snap to fire an out pass to O’Meara, who sprinted by the hometown secondary for a 57-yard go-ahead TD with 4:37 to go before halftime.

Harvey made two catches for 54 yards and Williamson garnered six spirals for 40 yards for Fairmont, while O’Meara pocketed five receptions for a game-best 112 yards and one TD, and Factor contributed four catches for 62 yards for TCU.

Fairmont (4-3) plays host to St. Peter at 7 PM Thursday (Oct. 22) in its last regular-season finale at Thomas Mahoney Field, while Tri-City United (6-1) travels to Worthington on Tuesday night (Oct. 20).

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TCU       7 6 6   7 – 26

FHS       6 0 6 13 – 25

SCORING PLAYS

1st Quarter

TCU: Keegan O’Meara 1 run (Chase Miller kick), 7:44.

FHS: Jensen Livesay 12 run (conversion failed), 3:09.

2nd Quarter

TCU: Keegan O’Meara 57 pass from Kellen Jirik (kick failed), 4:37.

3rd Quarter

FHS: Jensen Livesay 1 run (kick failed), 7:12.

TCU: Parker O’Malley 4 run (run failed), 1:11.

4th Quarter

FHS: Jensen Livesay 6 run (Boe Kolbe kick), 10:34.

FHS: Jensen Livesay 1 run (kick failed), 1:29.

TCU: Parker O’Malley 6 run (Chase Miller kick), 0:14.

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TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: TCU 15; Fairmont 14. Rushing: TCU 32-201; Fairmont 25-81. Passing (Comp-Att-Int-Yards): TCU 11-15-0-190; Fairmont 13-25-0-133. Fumbles-lost: Fairmont 0-0; TCU 5-3. Penalties: TCU 9-103; Fairmont 5-56.

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INDIVIDUAL STATS

Offense: Rushing: Keegan O’Meara (TCU) 10-63, Jensen Livesay (FHS) 16-62, Toren Kelly (TCU 3-55, Parker O’Malley (TCU 7-44. Passing: Kellen Jirik (TCU) 11-15-0-190; Jensen Livesay (FHS) 13-25-0-133. Receiving: Brayden Williamson (FHS) 6-40, Keegan O’Meara (TCU) 5-112, Brody Factor (TCU) 4-62, Travohn Harvey (FHS) 2-54.

Defense: Fumble recoveries: Travohn Harvey (FHS), Brayden Williamson (FHS) and Ethan Farnum (FHS).