FAIRBORN — A trio of scores by the visiting Sidney Yellow Jackets overshadowed a terrific passing night by Fairborn quarterback Garison Secrest, as Fairborn fell 40-12, Sept. 21 at Memorial Stadium.
Sidney exploded for three touchdowns in the final 14 minutes of the first half, forcing Fairborn to try and play catchup for the rest of the evening.
The Yellow Jackets scored on their second possession of the game on Caleb Harris’s run from a yard out. For the game, Harris finished with 103 yards rushing on 15 carries with one TD on the ground and another on a pass reception.
Sidney junior QB Ryan Dunham wasn’t as efficient in his passing game (13 of 27 with an interception), but with runners like Harris, Quamir Brown (56 yards) and Darren Taborn (32 yards) in his backfield, he didn’t have to be. Five Jackets runners combined for 220 yards on the ground.
A bit of trickery gave Sidney a 14-0 lead. E.J. Davis faked a run around the right side, pulled up and launched a 27-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Hudgins for the score.
The Jackets squibbed an onside kick on their kickoff and recovered it at midfield. Just two plays later, Dunham fumbled a snap, recoved by tossing a lateral pass far to his left along the Yellow Jacket sideline to Taborn who went the rest of the way for a 49-yard score.
Three Hallie Truesdale extra points and Sidney was out in front, 21-0.
Secrest did his best to try and get the Skyhawks back into the contest. The 6-foot-3, 165-pound junior quarterback connected on 27 of 41 pass attempts for 297 yards, three interceptions and two touchdowns, but Sidney’s running game proved to be too much for the Skyhawks to battle back.
Fairborn scored with less than a minute left in the first half on a 17-yard Secrest-to-O.J. Person passing play, but the extra point try sailed wide left.
Sidney responded with a 54-yard drive in 40.2 seconds to take a 27-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Skyhawks had a nice nine-play scoring drive to open up the second half of play. Secrest threw a pass down the right sideline that had been tipped by a Yellow Jacket defender right into the hands of Richard Peterseon for a 9-yard score. A 2-point pass play failed, and Fairborn didn’t score again.
Fairborn (0-5) will begin Greater Western Ohio Conference, American South divisional play in its next game, a 7 p.m. road contest against Stebbins. Sidney (3-2) opens GWOC American North play at home that same night against Piqua.
