Dispatch
DUBLIN COFFMAN 35 GAHANNA 23
Fairchild struts his stuff for Coffman
Shamrocks score three of their touchdowns after forcing turnovers
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
KYLE ROBERTSON DISPATCH Dublin Coffman?s Trey Fairchild sails down the Gahanna sideline in the first quarter to score one of his three touchdowns.
Coaching the Dublin Coffman offense can be similar to playing with the television remote with the full cable package. There are so many players to choose from and only one football.
Last week, receiver Jake Stoneburner and tailback Steve Gardiner ran wild in the Shamrocks? win over Westerville South.
It was receiver Trey Fairchild?s turn yesterday, and he ran with the chance by scoring on runs of 65 and 7 yards on option plays and catching a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zak Kristan in a 35-23 victory over Gahanna in a Division I regional semifinal in Upper Arlington?s Moorehead Stadium.
The Shamrocks (9-3) defeated the Lions (8-4) for the second time this season by scoring touchdowns off three turnovers, including twice in the second half, to blow open a close game.
Coffman coach Mark Crabtree didn?t realize Fairchild was having that big of a day.
"To be honest, that didn?t hit me until late in the game that he was touching the ball that much for us," he said. "The thing about our offense is that when the quarterbacks are on, we can move the ball. Our quarterback position is a little bit different than other teams."
Fairchild understands that with so many skilled players, it must be share and share alike.
"It?s a different player every game for us," he said. "We didn?t run the option a whole lot this season, but we worked on it this week. Those plays just worked."
Kristan, a senior, was 14 of 23 for 141 yards. Backup Zack Stoudt, a junior, was 5 of 7 for 47 yards.
Coffman led 21-17 when Gahanna self-destructed on two straight possessions. Three plays after Jordan Bowdy recovered a fumbled punt, Fairchild caught a pass in the end zone on third-and-21 for a 25-yard touchdown with 4:09 left in the third quarter.
"It was a perfect ball by Zak," Fairchild said. "The blocking was great, too."
On Gahanna?s next series, Gardiner returned an interception 31 yards to the 12 to set up a 1-yard sneak by Kristan that made it 35-17.
"Those (turnovers) just set us up," Kristan said. "You can?t ask for much more from the defense than that."
The offense also didn?t miss a beat despite a stiff wind and light rain.
"We have so many people on offense ? so many people," Kristan said. "Our playbook is ridiculous. We have so many plays and so many options. We have so many checks. It?s awesome. It?s fun."