Fairview receiver Taylor Melton hauls in a pass from Don Posladek to tie the game in the fourth quarter last Friday night against Firelands. The Warriors went on to win their first game of the season. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Warriors rally for first win
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published Oct. 1, 2008

With half the 2008 season in the books, Fairview’s football team was still looking for its first win.

With a little over half of last Friday night’s game with Firelands completed, the Warriors found themselves trailing 14-0. Needless to say, things weren’t looking good.

But the shadow of doom and gloom started to turn to “hey, we just might win this thing” as the Warriors began to rally. When it was all said and done, Fairview had sent its homecoming crowd home happy with a 21-14 win over the Falcons at James B. Dailey Stadium.

“Our kids showed a lot of intestinal fortitude tonight,” said Warriors head coach Dave Latkovic, who earned his first win as the leader of the Fairview football program.

“Every week, we’ve been in every game throughout the first half,” continued Latkovic, a bit damp from the celebratory Gatorade bath he received from his players. “Other teams just wear us down in the second half.

“Our kids have gone through this meat grinder week after week. Most 0-5 teams would have packed it in by now, but this team hasn’t. We felt if we could keep pushing like this that we could do it. Now the kids have a taste of what it feels like to win, and I look for us to win some more before it’s all said and done,” he said.

It was nearly all said and done early in the third quarter.

Firelands took a slim 6-0 lead into the halftime break after scoring a touchdown late in the first quarter. Fairview received the kickoff to start the second With half the 2008 season in the books, Fairview’s football team was still looking for its first win.

Fairview running back Jose Sanchez scores the first touchdown of the night for the Warriors in last Friday night’s game with Firelands. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

With a little over half of last Friday night’s game with Firelands completed, the Warriors found themselves trailing 14-0. Needless to say, things weren’t looking good.

But the shadow of doom and gloom started to turn to “hey, we just might win this thing” as the Warriors began to rally. When it was all said and done, Fairview had sent its homecoming crowd home happy with a 21-14 win over the Falcons at James B. Dailey Stadium.

“Our kids showed a lot of intestinal fortitude tonight,” said Warriors head coach Dave Latkovic, who earned his first win as the leader of the Fairview football program.

“Every week, we’ve been in every game throughout the first half,” continued Latkovic, a bit damp from the celebratory Gatorade bath he received from his players. “Other teams just wear us down in the second half.

“Our kids have gone through this meat grinder week after week. Most 0-5 teams would have packed it in by now, but this team hasn’t. We felt if we could keep pushing like this that we could do it. Now the kids have a taste of what it feels like to win, and I look for us to win some more before it’s all said and done,” he said.

It was nearly all said and done early in the third quarter.

Firelands took a slim 6-0 lead into the halftime break after scoring a touchdown late in the first quarter. Fairview received the kickoff to start the second half, but fumbled the ball away to give the Falcons the ball at the Warrior 40-yard line. Firelands scored six plays later, made the two-point conversion and took a 14-0 lead with 9:37 remaining in the third quarter.

Fairview failed to score on its first possession of the half, but the defense forced a three and out right after that. With the Falcons pinned deep, the Warriors got the ball at the Firelands 38. Despite drawing an unsportsmanlike penalty that pushed them back to the 48, the home team scored three plays later on a three-yard run by junior running back Jose Sanchez.

A 15-yard halfback option pass play from Sanchez to junior Taylor Melton and a 12-yard Sanchez run set up the score. Brad Snow kicked the conversion, and it was 14-7, Falcons, with 2:20 left in the third quarter.

Fairview then tried an onsides kick and recovered. The Warriors failed to move the ball, but got a break on the first play of the fourth quarter when senior Marty Patton intercepted a pass and returned it to the Falcon 27. Nine plays later, junior quarterback Don Posladek found Melton on a fade pass for a five-yard touchdown play.

With Snow making the kick, Fairview had rallied back to tie the game at 14-14 with 7:47 left in the game.

Fairview’s defense held with another three and out and got the ball back on its own seven with 6:27 to go. The Warriors had 93 yards to go to get win No. 1 on the season.

The drive started out with a five-yard gain by junior running back Canaan Lorek. An 18-yard pass play from Posladek to Sanchez got the ball out to the 18. Three plays later, a nine-yard completion from Posladek to John Fritz gave the Warriors even more momentum — and breathing room — at their own 44-yard line.

But Fairview got a bonus on the play, as a roughing the passer call put the ball at the Firelands 41.

A pass interference call gave Fairview the ball at the Falcon 27. A 15-yard Sanchez run got it down to the 10 with 2:11 to go and counting. Posladek ran a keeper to the one, then snuck it in on the next play to give Fairview the lead with 1:34 left in the game.

Fairview’s defense was dominant as Firelands attempted a rally of its own. Big hits by junior Tom Rehor and sophomore Gage Falcone stopped the Falcons cold. Falcone’s sack of Firelands quarterback Jared O’Keefe with :48.2 left sealed the deal.

The school’s student section, standing the entire game and sensing the moment, rushed the field at the final gun and joined the team in its celebration at the north end of Veterans Field.

“Our errors in the first half put more pressure on us,” said Latkovic as he accepted congratulations from numerous students, parents and administrators.

“We had pressure already because we felt this was a game we could win. We had to circle the wagons at halftime, but we moved some guys around and the kids accepted the adjustments and went with it. We used plays we’ve never run before. I even grabbed a play out of the bag that we used at John Marshall.

“At the end, we were blitzing Rehor, moving him all over the place. And Falcone has a high motor. In the second half, everybody did their job, and it made a difference. I’m very happy for our guys, especially the seniors.

“Really, I’ve seen a lot of growth out of these guys, probably the most I’ve seen in 16 years of coaching. That’s the most rewarding part of this job, to see kids improve and grow,” said Latkovic.

Fairview, now 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the West Shore Conference, will host Bay this Friday night.