Fairbanks quarterback Braxton Wilhelm (14) picks up yardage against Mechanicsburg on Friday. The Panthers fell, 52-0. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
For the past six weeks, the Fairbanks Panthers have been playing as good of football as many other high school teams in Central Ohio.
After opening the 2019 campaign with two losses, the Panthers went on a tear and won six consecutive games.
Included in that run was an upset victory over state-ranked West Liberty-Salem.
The winning streak, however, came to a screeching halt Friday night with a 52-0 loss to state-ranked Mechanicsburg.
The Indians (8-1) set the tone early when Keith Bebout fielded the opening kickoff at the six-yard-line.
He got through the initial rush of would-be tacklers, shifted into a couple more gears and was off to the races.
BeBout did not stop until he had crossed the goal line on the 94-yard jaunt.
Aaron Conley took the ball in for a two-point conversion and an early 8-0 lead.
The Panthers (6-3), who could not generate a ton of offense, punted after only three plays.
The kick went for just 29 yards and gave Mechanicsburg the ball at its own 37-yard line.
Chayse Propst took the handoff on the second play of the brief series and motored 58 yards into the end zone.
The extra point attempt by Logan Hurst failed, leaving the visitors up 14-0.
FHS had to punt once again, but this time pinned the Indians deep at their own 15.
Fairbanks later stopped Mechanicsburg on third down, setting up a punting situation.
Conley, however, faked the kick and ran for the first down to the Panther 31-yard-line.
The visitors needed only four more plays before Hurst ran the ball into the end zone from a yard out.
Conley scored the two-point conversion for a 22-0 lead.
The Indians took advantage of a Panther turnover to tack on their fourth score of the opening period.
Mechanicsburg recovered a fumble at the FHS 34-yard line.
One play later, Logan Hurst flipped a scoring strike to Mack DeLong. Conley, who alternates with Hurst at quarterback, scored the two-point conversion for a 30-0 lead.
The Indians went on to complete two more long passes over the Panther secondary for scores before the night ended.
“We were so amped to stop their running game,” said Fairbanks coach Patrick Cotter. “We knew those pop passes were in their playbook, but our DB’s eyes got lost on those plays.
“Mechanicsburg knew we wanted to stop their ground attack and they put those passing winkles into their game plan.”
The Indians took their 30-point advantage into the second period.
They added two more scores, both on long passes, during the quarter.
Conley found DeLong for a 46-yard touchdown and then hit Jake Hurst with a 40-yarder.
Logan Hurst tallied a two-point conversion and Danny Mascadri booted the extra point as the Indians took a 45-0 lead at halftime.
The game clock ran for the remainder of the game.
Mechanicsburg’s final touchdown came with 1:38 left in the third quarter.
That’s when Jake Hurst broke through the Panther defense for a 53-yard run.
Mascadri ended the scoring with an extra point.
It did not help matters that the Panthers saw running back Mason Cushman and quarterback Braxton Wilhelm sent to the sidelines with injuries.
The extent of their injuries was not known at presstime.
“Mechanicsburg just came out hot and we had trouble with them,” said Cotter. “We couldn’t get any kind of response.”
The Panthers will close out the regular season at West Jefferson (8-1) on Friday.