Fairbanks quarterback Braxton Wilhelm (14) races for the end zone Friday evening against Springfield Catholic Central. The Panthers rolled to a 63-6 Homecoming victory. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The youthful football team from Springfield Catholic Central put up as much of a fight as it could Friday evening at Fairbanks’ Kyre Field.
In the end, however, the Irish were simply no match as the Panthers rolled to a 63-6 Homecoming victory.
Springfield Catholic Central’s roster numbers just 18 and the list includes 15 freshmen.
“I have a lot of respect for Springfield Catholic Central,” said Panther coach Patrick Cotter. “They never quit and they worked hard all night.
“They’ve got a lot of freshmen, so I think they’re going to be good in a couple of years.”
The game, which raised Fairbanks’ record to 3-2 at the midway point of the regular season, was basically over during the first quarter.
The Panthers (who will travel to Northeastern on Friday) scored on their first four possessions.
The Irish, on the other hand, punted after three plays to conclude all of their series during the opening quarter.
Fairbanks took the opening kickoff and started from deep in its own territory at the seven-yard-line.
Riordin Stauffer was one of several running backs who played in the place of the injured Mason Cushman.
He carried the ball three times and got it out to the FHS 43.
From there, quarterback Braxton Wilhelm connected with Trey Good on a pass that covered the remaining 57 yards into the end zone.
Cade Ziegler was called on to kick the extra point. He was good on the first of his nine PATs to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead.
Fairbanks operated from a short field at the SCC 38 after receiving another punt.
Braeden Fairchild, who led FHS with 175 yards on the ground, picked up 24 down to the 10-yard-line.
Wilhelm finished the brief drive with a 10-yard scamper through the Irish defense.
With a little more than seven minutes to play in the quarter, the Panthers went on top 14-0.
Another SCC punt gave Fairbanks the ball on the Irish 48.
Fairchild sliced through Catholic Central’s defense like a hot knife through butter.
His 27-yard jaunt to pay dirt and Ziegler’s conversion left FHS in command, 21-0.
In the meantime, the Panther defense was making life positively miserable for the Irish. SCC managed just 64 yards in total offense.
Springfield’s punter shanked a kick from the end zone and the ball rolled dead at the SCC 20.
Wilhelm softened the Irish defense with a pass to Ashton Griffith that picked up eight yards.
Fairbanks was later flagged for holding, which put the ball back at the 17-yard-line.
That didn’t stop the Panthers as Wilhelm tossed a 17-yard scoring strike to Gatlin Luke.
Ziegler’s extra point sent FHS into the second period with a 28-0 advantage.
The Panthers continued to pour it on during the ensuing quarter.
One FHS drive was thwarted by a pass interception.
Fairchild, though, later scored on a 34-yard run.
With Ziegler’s extra point, the lead expanded to 35-0.
The Panther defense got into the scoring column over the next several minutes.
The Irish coughed up the football on three consecutive possessions.
Fairbanks capitalized by scooping up the pigskin and taking it to the house for touchdowns each time.
Braylon Green recovered the first fumble with 3:32 left until halftime. He rambled 18 yards into the end zone.
Less than a minute later, Green fielded another Irish bobble.
He ran for a few yards, turned to his right and lateralled the ball to Dakota Key.
Key, in turn, finished the touchdown run.
“I picked up that second fumble and Dakota said ‘hey, lateral it to me,’” laughed Green.
“It’s a lineman’s dream to score a touchdown,” said Key. “Actually, it was a little surreal.”
Stauffer then made a shortstop-type of pickup of SCC’s third fumble and ran into the end zone.
Ziegler was spot on with the extra points as the Panthers took a commanding 63-0 lead at halftime.
The second half featured a running clock as Cotter put a number of younger players in the game.
The only points of the second half came when SCC tallied a touchdown with less than a minute to play.
Mark Thrasher scored on a 37-yard run with 39 ticks on the timer.
The extra point attempt failed.
“The guys did what we wanted them to do,” said Cotter. “They went out and played fundamental football with the same type of effort we’ve had for the last three weeks.
“We played well in all three phases (offense, defense and special teams) of the game.”