Playoff Recap - Fairmont 22, Belle Plaine 21

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By Charlie Sorrells

Web Prep Writer

BELLE PLAINE – Less than 48 hours prior to Tuesday night’s Section 3AAA football quarterfinal, Fairmont mentor Mat Mahoney did not know if injured tight end Preston Geerdes would receive a doctor’s clearance to return to the starting lineup.

Mahoney and his No. 5-seeded Cardinals realized the 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior’s full impact after Geerdes received a medical OK and delivered a pivotal 35-yard catch on a convert-or-exit-the-playoffs fourth down-and-7 situation at No. 4-seeded Belle Plaine’s 37, trailing by seven points with 1:27 remaining in regulation.

Geerdes’ long-distance reception from Jensen Livesay set up the senior quarterback’s 2-yard touchdown keeper and Livesay’s ensuing decisive 2-point conversion on a sneak run to stake Fairmont to a 22-21 lead with 53 seconds left in regulation in Belle Plaine.

Carter Hanson intercepted Tiger quarterback Reed Creighton’s fourth-and-19 ‘Hail Mary’ launch at the Cardinals’ 38 with 25 seconds to go to ice Fairmont’s one-point triumph over Belle Plaine in the postseason’s opening round.

Fairmont (5-4) advances to face No. 1-seeded Tri-City United (7-1) in the sectional semifinals at 2 PM Halloween Saturday in Montgomery. The Titans earned a first-round bye in the seven-team playoff bracket.

“Two of my favorite plays are trap (running) and Y-delay (passing), and we utilized both tonight to come away with a one-point section win,” said Mahoney, who ironically lost his first-ever playoff game as a head coach to Belle Plaine on the Tigers’ home field 20 seasons ago. “I have to give credit to (offensive coordinator) Brian (Wille) for reaching into our playbook and making the call of a Y-delay pass to Geerdie to move the football down the field with time running out on us.

“I told him (Wille) after we score, we’re going for two on a run sneak no matter what Belle Plaine’s defense does. The offsides penalty on them did help reduce our distance to the end zone and Jensen delivered the go-ahead 2-point conversion.”

Ahead 22-21, Cardinal linebacker Boe Kolbe sacked Creighton for a 9-yard loss on second down following a first-down incompletion with time elapsing to less than 40 seconds. Creighton tossed a third-down incompletion before Hanson leaped high in the secondary to corral the game-clinching interception at the 25-second juncture.

“Our guys really showed their determination, especially after being up 14-0 early in the game before Belle Plaine responded by scoring three unanswered touchdowns to take the lead late in the second half,” said Mahoney. “They (the Tigers) produced a huge turnover with 9 minutes to go in the game to overtake us on the scoreboard.”

A blitzing Boden Siegle jarred the football loose from Livesay before the Tigers’ trio of Riley Arbuckle, Will Posthumus and Mason Bungarden smothered the Cardinals’ fumble at the Fairmont 23 yard line at the 8:43 juncture.

Creighton, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 170 yards and all three TDs, zipped a 10-yard strike to Chaz Iovino to convert on third-and-9 before a Fairmont facemask penalty cut the distance to the goal line in half at the 7. Creighton converted a third-and-3 situation by spotting Landon Wadsley on a 5-yard post route to give Belle Plaine a 20-14 lead. Adrian Grilla kicked the PAT for a 21-14 lead with 5:10 left in the game.

Livesay, who finished with 155 yards on 9-for-12 passing, fired a clutch 22-yard pass to Geerdes to convert a key fourth-and-1 situation midway through the Cardinals’ first possession of the playoff clash. Livesay later threaded a 15-yard toss to Brayden Williamson to gain the 4 before Livesay rumbled across the goal line from 1 yard out two snaps later. Kolbe kicked the PAT for a 7-0 lead at the 6:09 mark of the opening quarter.

Linebacker Aaron Becker and Fairmont’s defense forced a three-and-out series by Belle Plaine before Livesay chewed up 35 of the ensuing 65-yard scoring drive with one flick of the wrist on a throw to Mason Bicknase to gain the Tigers’ 30. Ryder Thate and Keyon Schutz handled the ground game from there, with Schutz scoring on a 3-yard run. Kolbe kicked the PAT for a 14-0 lead at the 10:24 mark of the second quarter.

Iovino’s strip-and-recLver defensive gem with 2:27 left before intermission set up Creighton’s 13-yard rifled completion to Caden Koepp for a score before Grilla kicked the extra point to pare Belle Plaine’s deficit in half at 14-7 at the 16-second juncture.

Creighton rocketed a key 39-yard completion to Evan Cahalan to eventually lead to the junior quarterback’s 6-yard scoring fade to Wadsley. Grilla nailed the PAT kick to knot the game at 14-all with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter.

Bicknase topped the Cardinals’ ground game with 66 yards on four carries and also topped the receiving attack with three catches for 71 yards. Koepp led all receivers with six grabs for 56 yards for the Tigers, while Wadsley and Cahalan made four catches each for 51 and 48 yards, respectively.

Belle Plaine ended its season with a 5-4 record.

Fairmont             7-7-0-8=22

Belle Plaine        0-7-7-7=21

SCORING PLAYS

1st Quarter

FHS: Jensen Livesay 1 run (Boe Kolbe kick), 6:09.

2nd Quarter

FHS: Keyon Schutz 3 run (Kolbe kick), 10:24.

BP: Caden Koepp 13 pass from Reed Creighton (Adrian Grilla kick), 0:16.

3rd Quarter

BP: Landon Wadsley 6 pass from Creighton (Grilla kick), 5:37.

4th Quarter

BP: Wadsley 5 pass from Creighton (Grilla kick), 5:10.

FHS: Livesay 2 run (Livesay run), 0:53.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: Fairmont 11; Belle Plaine 9. Rushing: Fairmont 28-125; Belle Plaine 19-19. Passing: Belle Plaine 19-32-1-170; Fairmont 9-12-0-155. Fumbles-lost: Fairmont 4-3; Belle Plaine 1-0. Penalties: Fairmont 9-66; Belle Plaine 4-16.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Offense: Rushing: Mason Bicknase (FHS) 4-66, Keyon Schutz (FHS) 16-52. Passing: Reed Creighton (BP) 19-32-1-170; Jensen Livesay (FHS) 9-12-0-155. Receiving: Fairmont: Mason Bicknase 3-71, Brayden Williamson 3-14, Preston Geerdes 2-57. Belle Plaine: Caden Koepp 6-56, Landon Wadsley 4-51, Evan Cahalan 4-48.

Defense: Interception: Carter Hanson (FHS). Fumble recoveries: Riley Arbuckle (BP) 2, Chaz Iovino (BP). QB sacks: Mason Bungarden (BP) 4..