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Worst to first? Fairfield now 4-0 on season


Fairfield has gone from a one-win team a year ago to beginning a season 4-0 for the first time in the 14 years of its football program.

The Knights got there by defeating Biglerville 29-12 in YAIAA Division III action Friday night at Robert E. Finafrock Field in Fairfield.

"The kids decided right after last season ended that they were going to work hard all offseason and it's paid off," Fairfield head coach Darwin Seiler said. "Cross Fit Gettysburg set up a program for the kids to improve their speed, strength and agility and they've done a great job of following it."

After a scoreless opening stanza, the Knights struck for three touchdowns in the second quarter with junior quarterback Darian Mort accounting for all of them. He scored on a pair of runs from 1- and 6-yards out, respectively, and also hooked up with freshman wideout Garrett Stadler for a 51-yard touchdown pass on the first play following a Biglerville punt.

Biglerville (0-4, 0-1) cut the deficit to 21-6 when Reggie Adams darted his way through the defense for a 10-yard score on the ground and the count remained that way until early in the fourth quarter.

Fairfield (4-0, 1-0) boosted its lead with 8:50 left when Charlie Burnett scored from 5-yards out and the sophomore tailback finished the game with 150 yards on the ground on 25 carries.

"Charlie is a special running back. He runs hard and he sees the field very well," Seiler said. "I really don't think he's scratched the surface when it comes to how good he will end up being."

Adams wasn't done, though, as he answered with a 75-yard sprint down the left sideline that sliced the lead to 29-12 and put a bow on his 232-yard night on the ground that saw him carry the rock 27 times. He's now topped 140 yards in three games and went over 200 yards twice.

"He's special and you've got to keep an eye on him at all times," Seiler said of Adams. "We did a decent job against him, except for the two big runs that he had."

The Canners turned the ball over four times, though it could've been much worse as they recovered five of their own fumbles, losing just one. Biglerville threw three interceptions, while two of them were snagged by Mort.

"Our guys are working hard and they are trying at practice and in the weight room," Biglerville head coach Alex Ramos said. "But we only dressed 24 guys tonight and it's hard to play when you don't have much depth."

Biglerville _0_6_0_6 - _12

Fairfield _0_21_0_8 - _29

Second Quarter

Fair - Darian Mort 6 run (Mort kick) 11:52

Fair - Garrett Stadler 51 pass from Mort (Mort kick) 9:47

Fair - Mort 1 run (Mort kick) 5:55

Big - Reggie Adams 10 run (kick blocked) 1:12

Fourth Quarter

Fair - Charlie Burnett 5 run (Jordan Angerett pass from Zach Koons) 8:50

Big - Adams 75 run (pass failed)

Team statistics

_Big_Fair

First Downs _13_13

Rushes-Yards _43-244_39-186

Passing _2-12-3_4-7-0

Passing Yards _25_98

Total Yards _269_284

Fumbles-Lost _6-1_1-1

Punts _4-22.3_3-30.0

Penalties _8-89_9-70

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Biglerville, Adams 27-232, Denton Showers 5-30, Hunter Getz 4-5, Gabe May 1-5, Derek Tosten 2-(-7), Damian Manzo 4-(-19); Fairfield, Burnett 25-150, Jake Irwin 4-20, Mort 9-13, Koons 1-3.

Passing - Biglerville, Manzo 2-8-25-1, Tosten 0-3-0-2, Adams 0-1-0-0; Fairfield, Mort 4-7-98-0

Receiving - Biglerville, Ivan Manzo 1-14, Kam Wenk 1-11; Fairfield, Burnett 2-25, Stadler 1-51, Angerett 1-22.