Pigskin Preview: Trojans look to take care of the little things

FAIRFIELD — There's reason for the Fairfield football team to be optimistic about having a much different season after going 2-7 last fall.

Most of that stems from just how close the Trojans were last season to having a much different season. Fairfield lost four of their first five games, each of which were winnable with Trojans either tied, leading or driving for a potential game-tying score in the second half.

"We were so close against so many teams last year," Fairfield junior Zandrik Allison said. "We'd be tied at the half and we'd just let games slip away. This year, we've got to strive for being a second half team and being able to do all the things we did well in the first half.

"It's definitely a matter for us of closing out games," Fairfield senior Nolan Smith added.

The little things that added up to games slipping away from the Trojans last year could be chalked up to a team lacking experience at key positions. Allison, Ethan Bisgard and Voss Richardson were skill position players thrown into the fire of tough varsity games as sophomores last fall.

All three are back this year after accounting for nearly 1,800 of Fairfield's 2,740 total yards gained offensively last season. Allison and Bisgard matched senior teammate Luke Konczal in rushing for a team-leading eight touchdowns while Richardson, in his first year as Fairfield's starting quarterback, threw for 493 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for six more scores and 140 more yards on 39 carries.

"I think a big thing for us last year was that we were still learning a new offense," Allison said. "There were times last year we were kind of sloppy. I think that's going to change with the experience we gained from last year. I think we're going to be more fluent with our footsteps, our alignments and our assignments."

Little fundamental mistakes may have prevented a younger Trojan football team from producing a winning season last year. Fairfield found themselves in one-score games during the fourth quarter in four of their first five contests, losing 13-12 in overtime to Mount Pleasant when a potential game-winning two-point conversion was wiped out by a holding call and 34-26 at Washington that was clinched on an interception inside the 20-yard-line in the final minute.

Keokuk rallied from a 27-21 halftime deficit to earn a 44-33 win over Fairfield at Calvert Field in the fourth week of the season. One week later, Fairfield shook off a stunning start to the game against eventual district champion Benton Community as the Bobcats took a 14-0 lead less than four minutes after the opening kickoff on a two-yard touchdown run and 55-yard interception return for a score by Dylan LaFebreve, tying the game by halftime and moving within 20 yards of a go-ahead score before a pair of touchdown runs by LaFebreve in a span of six minutes cost Fairfield a 29-14 loss.

"All of those games, we were one mistake away from winning those games," Allison said. "If we can clean up those mistakes, we could definitely have a good year.

"I think that our confidence, but also how close we are as a team, is going to be a big difference for us this year," Smith added. "I think there's more trust among all of us going into this year that we're going to get the job done."

Fairfield showcased over the past year that the talent on the Trojan football team can find athletic success. Allison was one of six Fairfield wrestlers to qualify for state last winter while Bisgard, Richardson and Spencer McCready all were part of helping the Trojan track and field team secure a top-10 finish in the 3A portion of the Iowa High School Boys Track and Field meet.

Allison, Richardson, McCready were part of Fairfield's second straight Southeast Conference baseball championship season this past summer. Jones is hoping that winning experience can translate to the football season.

"These guys are hungry. They've won in almost every sport they've played and the are always competitive," Jones said. "They want to bring out the best in not only themselves, but each other. It's an interesting team where our seniors are on the line of scrimmage and our younger players are found in the backfield.

"It's a team full of really good kids. We've got a lot of really good speed. If we keep kids healthy and provide them with the lanes, we've got some fast kids that can race up those alleys."