PREP FOOTBALL: Battle of Highway 33 hits Benton Friday night
Sep. 14—BENTON — There is a lot to still discover about the Fairfield Falcons football team this season.
That team, and its positioning in the Northeast Corner Conference's Big School division might become a bit clearer tonight.
Welcoming in rival West Noble for the Falcons conference opener, Fairfield will get a good look at what has been a strong first four weeks for the visiting Chargers.
West Noble (4-0, 1-0 NECC) is undefeated entering the matchup but have faced a light start to the season. The Chargers boast wins over Central Noble (1-3), Wawasee (1-3), Eastside (2-2) and Angola (0-4).
To their credit, they've outscored those four teams 150-64 giving them the largest point differential in the NECC Big school division.
Fairfield has faced a more difficult schedule. After taking care of Goshen (0-4) in Week 1, the Falcons have dropped a matchup at Heritage (4-0) while picking up wins over Central Noble, and Culver Academy (2-2).
Fairfield trails the all-time series 28-26 and since separating teams into Big and Small school divisions, West Noble sports a 7-2 record over the Falcons.
GROUND GAME GAINS
Both Fairfield and West Noble have found most of their success through the ground game. The Falcons "flex-bone" style approach keeps their attention towards running the ball and have averaged over five yards per carry. The Chargers pass a bit more often, but have been even more successful when choosing to stay grounded, gaining over seven yards per carry.
Junior Breckan Maran, the main ball-carrier for Fairfield, has benefitted from a strong offensive line anchored by seniors Ethan Hochstetler and Caleb Borkholder. Maran has averaged over 116 yards on the ground each game.
West Noble's leading rusher, junior Estil Pruitt has been electric, averaging 167 yards per game and scoring 11 touchdowns for the Chargers. He's passed the 100-yard mark in each game this season.
DEFENSIVE DUTIES
While the West Noble offense is a bit more dynamic and successful at putting points on the scoreboard, Fairfield's defense has been the more impactful of the two teams. The Falcons love to get in the backfield to set up long downs. With 24 tackles-for-loss, nine and a half sacks and seven turnovers to their name, Fairfield doesn't relent on that side of the ball.
Most notably, junior Elijah Miller, senior Sawyer Ernsberger and Hochstetler have led the team in total tackles with 20, 19 and 18 respectively. Borkholder has picked up three sacks and senior Marco Garcia is tied with Ernsberger with each nabbing two interceptions.
If stopping West Noble's offense is the challenge, the Falcons pose a huge threat at doing so.
BIG SCHOOL BRAWL
With only four opportunities against conference foes, each is critical to finding success. West Noble will only have more two more opportunities after the game tonight; Fairfield will have three.
That's why this showdown holds so much weight. Adding a rivalry to the stakes makes it much more critical for coaches Matt Thacker and Monte Mawhorter to come out with a win.
Whoever comes out on top tonight plays a big role in determining the rest of the season.
Reach Matt Lucas at 574-533-2151, ext. 240325, or at matt.lucas@goshennews.com.
