The Warriors pulled out its most recently installed two-point play and converted with 32 seconds remaining to complete a 22-21 comeback win over No. 9 seed Fairmont in the first round of the OHSAA Division I, Region 2 playoffs.
“That’s not a team you want to go into overtime with,” he said. “I think we put in that two-point play on Tuesday.”
No. 8 seed Lebanon advanced to face No. 1 seed Middletown in a Region 2 quarterfinal game. It will be the first time the Warriors have played the neighboring Middies since 1912.
Fairmont (5-6) grabbed the lead for the first time all night when senior Logan Doty broke free on a 28-yard touchdown run with 1:56 left in the fourth quarter.
Lebanon’s offense steadily drove from its own 35 in five- to eight-yard chunks until it reached Fairmont’s 9-yard line. Senior Luke Faler found senior Nick Lautar wide open in the middle of the field for a touchdown that setup the winning conversion.
“No one has beat these guys by much all year. They’re 5-5 and could be 8-2 or could have been 10-0,” Micah Faler said. “The margin with them is so low that looking at them on film, it’s going to come down to whoever has the ball last.”
He said one of his coaches suggested the two-point play design earlier in the week. It involved motioning multiple receivers from the left side to the right of the formation and having the quarterback also roll out to his right initially. Luke Faler stopped and looked back across the field during the play to find senior Cooper Scott near the far pylon for the successful conversion.
“It was awesome,” Micah Faler said. “... We were talking that this was going to come down to the end. We put it in, we trusted it, the guys believed in it, and there was no hesitation from the players either.”
Fairmont head coach David Miller felt Lebanon had a great final drive for the win and the opposing quarterback made plays his defense couldn’t stop.
“We played hard. I mean, that’s been our thing all year,” Miller said. “We’ve done a good job doing that, but (fell) just a little short at the end. So hats off to them.”
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Fairmont lost a first-round playoff game for the second time in three seasons and ended a year full of heartbreak for the Firebirds.
All of Fairmont’s losses were by no more than seven points this season. Four times it held the lead in the fourth quarter before giving up a score. Friday’s loss was deja vu to a Week 2 home defeat against Trotwood which also saw the Firebirds allow a score and two-point play in the final seconds of a 22-21 loss.
Lebanon (8-3) opened the scoring on its first possession with a 15-play drive spanning 80 yards and overcoming five penalties that Luke Faler capped with a nine-yard run more than midway through the first quarter.
Fairmont’s defense got a three-and-out the next time the Warriors had the ball. Damien Pattin, a junior, tied the game just before halftime on a three-yard touchdown run.
Both teams only possessed the ball twice in the first half.
A spectacular scramble by Luke Faler late in the third quarter put Lebanon back in front. He was unable to find a receiver after moving nearly as far to his left as possible, then decided to reverse course back across the field before finding a hole to move up field and shoulder his way to the goal line.
Credit: Steven Wright / Staff
Credit: Steven Wright / Staff
The play only goes down as a eight-yard run, but the third down scramble was a crucial potential four-point swing that Fairmont was unable to get the stop.
“He’s been doing that all season long,” Micah Faler said. “That’s why we’re grateful to be able to have him. With the amount of playmakers that we have around him, you really can’t focus on one particular guy and it’s really helped us.”
Fairmont responded with Pattin’s second touchdown run to tie the score at 14 early in the fourth.
Fairmont held a 271 to 245 total yards advantage. Doty led the team with 86 yards on 15 carries. Pattin added 64 yards on 13 attempts.
Luke Faler completed 14 of 16 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.
The Firebirds attempted several creative pass plays in the final 20 seconds but were mostly unsuccessful in trying to gain yards.
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