A first quarter shutout and lead wasn’t enough to throw off the No. 6-ranked Eagles. Fairfield piled on 28-points in the second quarter alone and took the air out of Anaconda with a 28-yard TD pass heading into the halftime to win going away, 48-12 Friday night at Mitchell Stadium.
Fairfield churned out 256 yards on the ground led by senior Robert Preston’s 112 and two TDs on 15 carries. The effectiveness of the running game led to big plays from senior QB Brock Peace through the air, completing 11-of-19 for 190 yards and two TDs highlighted by the 28-yard hookup with Wyatt Phillips as time expired in the first half.
Anaconda got on the board first thanks to sophomore Bohdi Keeland’s first TD catch of the season, a 30-yard pass play from Ryder Anderson with :28 seconds left in the first quarter. That lead would be short lived.
On the next possession, Peace found Colter Klein behind the secondary on a broken play from 42 yards out in what would be the first of three TDs on the night for the senior RB. Fairfield tacked on another score on its next possession with a 4-yard TD run by Preston, bumping the lead 14-6.
Anaconda bounced back almost immediately with Anderson throwing his second TD of the first half to a streaking Owen Pesanti up the home sideline barely over the outstretched hand of Brodie Carper (pictured below). The 67-yard TD was followed by an unsuccessful two-point conversion, but Anaconda clawed back to within one score down 14-12 with 7:58 left in the half.
But that’s the closest Anaconda would come to upending the Eagles. Fairfield scored on their next two possessions and the first three of the second half to earn the victory.
Fairfield completed passes to 10 different receivers and eight different running backs earned at least one carry in the decisive win. Klien was the big target, scoring on TDs passes of 42 and 5 including his 44-yard rushing TD for the first score after halftime.
Anderson completed 14-of-32 for 182 yards and two TDs, but also had three INTs trying to fit the ball into tight windows. Carson Lacey was the main target, hauling in seven catches for 54 yards. Pesanti had two receptions for 71 yards, and Keeland and Rory each had two receptions for 35 and 12 yards, respectively.
Anaconda only managed two yards rushing on 15 carries, mainly due to a 22-yard loss on a bad snap midway through the fourth quarter. Cromwell had 14 yards on two carries and junior Gillie Everett, who was limited with touches due to an apparent injury suffered, had 11 yards on on eight carries.
Anaconda now turns its attention to the start of conference play, traveling to Missoula Loyola (0-2) next Friday.
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Fairfield 0 28 21 0 – 48
Anaconda 6 6 0 0 – 12
First Quarter
A-Bohdi Keeland 30 pass from Ryder Anderson (PAT failed) 6-0
Second Quarter
F-Colter Klein 42 pass from Brock Peace (Allen PAT) 7-6
F-Robert Preston 4 run (Allen PAT) 14-6
A-Owen Pesanti 67 pass from Anderson (conversion failed) 14-12
F-Klein 4 pass from Peace (Allen PAT) 21-12
F-Wyatt Phillips 28 pass from Peace (Allen PAT) 28-12
Third Quarter
F-Klein 44 run (Allen PAT) 35-12
F-Sloan Giles 14 run (Allen PAT) 42-12
F-Preston 7 run (PAT blocked) 48-12
Fourth Quarter
No scoring
PASSING – Fairfield (12-22-164): Peace 11-19-160-2-1, Jack Rasmussen 1-3-4-0-0; Anaconda: Anderson 14-32-185-2-3.
RECEIVING – Fairfield: Philips 3-44, Klein 3-51, Preston 3-13, Carper 1-2, Giles 1-(-2), Schenk 1-14, Seiler 1-8, Keele 1-4, Allen 1-18; Anaconda: Lacey 7-54, Cromwell 2-12, Pesanti 2-71, Keeland 2-35.
RUSHING – Fairfield (31-256): Preston 15-112, Peace 6-16, Klein 1-44, Phillips 4-40, Rosenkrance 1-13, Giles 1-14, Hooper 3-13; Anaconda (15-2): Everett 8-11, Anderson 4-0, Cromwell 2-14, Team 1-(-22).
-all stats unofficial
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