For nearly 48 minutes, the Carmi-White County Bulldogs and Fairfield Mules battled through a defensive struggle that looked like it might come down to one final play.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that final play went Fairfield’s way.
After an hour and 45-minute lightning delay to start the night, Carmi and Fairfield finally took the field on Friday night at Harrington-Jeffries Stadium for the 119th meeting between the two rivals.
The Mules received the opening kickoff, but the Bulldog defense immediately came out ready to play. Fairfield’s opening drive ended in a turnover on downs when Cole Evans came up with a tackle for loss on an attempted screen pass.
Carmi’s offense then put together one of its best drives of the season.
The Bulldogs marched 50 yards on 12 plays, eventually finding the endzone when Cooper Hill powered his way in from three yards out. Jazz Duckworth took care of the two-point conversion, giving Carmi an 8-0 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
That would be the only scoring of the first half.
From there, the game quickly turned into a defensive battle, with both teams trading punts and stops on fourth down. The Bulldogs took their 8-0 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Carmi went three-and-out on its opening possession of the second half, but Lex Day flipped the field with an excellent punt that was downed at the Fairfield 2-yard line.
Just when it appeared the Bulldog defense had Fairfield backed into a corner, the Mules turned to one of the top running backs in the conference, Michael Barner.
Barner took the toss on the first play of the drive, found a hole and cut back across the field before racing 48 yards and completely flipping the field.
Just three plays later, Barner did it again.
The senior running back took another handoff, cut back and raced 48 yards to the endzone to put Fairfield on the board. The Bulldogs stopped the Mules on the ensuing two-point attempt, keeping the score at 8-6 with 8:24 remaining in the third quarter.
The momentum continued to swing Fairfield’s way when Carmi fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Mules possession at the Bulldog 39-yard line. But once again, Carmi’s defense answered.
Five plays later, Barner fumbled the football and Branson Burnett recovered for the Bulldogs, giving Carmi possession and another opportunity to stop the momentum.
However, Carmi wasn’t able to take advantage, going three-and-out and punting the ball back to Fairfield.
The Mules then put together a long, clock-eating drive that took them all the way inside the Carmi 5-yard line. But with the Bulldogs’ backs against the wall, the defense came up with yet another stop.
Facing fourth-and-inches from the Carmi 3-yard line, Fairfield handed the ball to fullback Cooper Berg. The Bulldog defensive line stood its ground, pushing Berg backward and bringing him down short of the line to gain.
Carmi took over deep in its own territory, still clinging to an 8-6 lead with under nine minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs desperately needed to put together a drive and at least get themselves out of the shadow of their own endzone, and they nearly did just that.
Facing 3rd & 7 from their own 5-yard line, Carmi dialed up a play-action pass. Day slipped behind the Fairfield defense, and Dakota Brown delivered a perfect pass for what would have been a 30-yard gain, but a holding penalty against the Bulldogs wiped out the biggest offensive play of the night.
Carmi would punt two plays later, giving Fairfield another opportunity to take its first lead of the night.
The Mules needed just five plays to go 21 yards, with Barner finding the endzone again on a four-yard touchdown run. Grant Otey ran in the two-point conversion, giving Fairfield a 14-8 lead with 3:34 remaining.
For the first time this season, the Bulldogs found themselves needing to put together a touchdown drive in the final minutes to potentially win or tie a game, and they answered that challenge.
Carmi marched 59 yards on just eight plays, moving quickly down the field and putting itself in position to tie the game. The drive was capped by Duckworth breaking loose for a 20-yard touchdown run with just 50 seconds remaining.
The Bulldogs went right back to Duckworth on the two-point attempt, but Fairfield’s defense was able to keep him out of the endzone, keeping the game tied at 14-14.
After a solid return by Otey, Fairfield took over at its own 44-yard line with 44 seconds remaining, and once again, penalties would prove costly for the Bulldogs.
On the first play of the drive, Fairfield quarterback Alex Basnett dropped back and threw deep toward tight end Breychan Kovacich. The Bulldogs were flagged for pass interference, moving the ball all the way to the Carmi 40-yard line with 37 seconds left.
One play later, Carmi was hit with another 15-yard penalty for a facemask, moving the Mules down to the Bulldog 24-yard line with 32 seconds remaining.
Fairfield eventually faced a 4th & 4 at the Carmi 16 yard line with just 15 seconds left.
With the game hanging in the balance, Basnett dropped back and floated a pass over the middle toward the endzone.
Carmi sophomore Reece Jamison appeared to have a chance to make the game-saving play.
Jamison flew through the air, looking to intercept the pass and send the rivalry game into overtime. But as he went for the football, Jamison collided with an official in the endzone.
The collision prevented Jamison from making a play on the ball, and the football fell into the waiting arms of Otey for the game-winning touchdown.
Just like that, Fairfield had gone 56 yards in 42 seconds to steal a 20-14 victory and remain undefeated.
For the Bulldogs, it was a heartbreaking ending to a game in which their defense had made several huge plays and their offense had put together a late touchdown drive to tie the game.
“We battled our absolute tails off. It hurts. I feel terrible for those guys,” said Carmi-White County Head Coach Clinton Wolff. “Fairfield just made a couple more plays than we did, and that hurts. It’s gonna hurt. But we’ve got to bounce back and go to work.”
The Bulldogs now have four regular season games remaining and will look to regroup quickly.
“Now we’ve only got four games left, and we’re 1-4,” Wolff said. “It’s time to put the big boy britches on. It’s time to go and put together a good week of practice and get ready for Sesser.”
The Bulldogs will travel to Sesser on Friday to face the Red Devils, who picked up their first win of the year on Friday and also come in with a 1-4 record.
Stats courtesy of Toby Brown & crew:
RUSHING:
Michael Barner (FF) – 20 rush, 174 yards, 2 TD
Jazz Duckworth (CWC) – 15 rush, 60 yards, TD
Grant Otey (FF) – 12 rush, 52 yards
Cooper Berg (FF) – 12 rush, 41 yards
Cooper Hill (CWC) – 11 rush, 29 yards, TD
Branson Burnett (CWC) – 4 rush, 24 yards
Dakota Brown (CWC) – 7 rush, 22 yards
Kyzen Edwards (CWC) – 4 rush, 16 yards
Caden Best (FF) – 4 rush, 9 yards
Alex Basnett (FF) – 1 rush, -2 yards
PASSING:
Alex Basnett (FF) – 3 / 6, 11 yards, TD, 0 INT
Breychan Kovacich (FF) – 0 / 1, INT
Dakota Brown (CWC) – 0 / 0
RECEIVING:
Grant Otey (FF) – 1 reception, 16 yards, TD
Michael Barner (FF) – 1 reception, -2 yards
Cooper Berg (FF) – 1 reception, -3 yards
TOTAL OFFENSE:
Fairfield – 285
Carmi – 151
TURNOVERS:
Fairfield – 2
Carmi – 1
INTERCEPTIONS:
Lex Day (CWC) – 1
FUMBLE RECOVERIES:
Branson Burnett (CWC) – 1
Braxton Galiher (FF) – 1
TIME OF POSSESION:
Fairfield – 25:44
Carmi – 22:16
3RD DOWN:
Fairfield – 5 / 13
Carmi – 3 / 10
4TH DOWN:
Fairfield – 2 / 5
Carmi – 2 / 2
TACKLES:
Trenton Chambers – 14 total, 9 solo, 5 asst
Cole Evans – 12 total, 8 solo, 4 asst, 2 TFL
Lex Day – 12 total, 4 solo, 8 asst
Kyzen Edwards – 5 solo
Jazz Duckworth – 5 total, 4 solo, 1 asst, 1 TFL
Branson Burnett – 5 total, 4 solo, 1 asst
Keaton Grant – 5 total, 2 solo, 3 asst
Caleb King – 5 total, 2 solo, 3 asst
Laeden Vargas – 4 total, 3 solo, 1 asst, 1 TFL
Isaac Northcott – 4 total, 3 solo, 1 asst
Matthew Kueber – 4 total, 2 solo, 2 asst, 1 TFL
Dakota Brown – 3 total, 2 solo, 1 asst
Cooper Hill – 2 solo, 1 TFL
Reece Jamison – 1 asst
SCORING PLAYS:
2:54 1st Q – Cooper Hill 3-yard run (Jazz Duckworth run) | 8-0 CWC
8:24 3rd Q – Michael Barner 44-yard run (run failed) | 8-6 CWC
3:34 4th Q – Barner 4-yard run (Grant Otey run) | 14-8 FF
0:50 4th Q – Duckworth 20-yard run (run failed) | 14-14
0:08 4th Q – Otey 16-yard catch from Alex Basnett (pass failed) | 20-14 FF