Jordan Jackson led a dominant Fairfield offense against Mason on Friday night, but the Indians still needed some key defensive plays to come away with the win.
The junior helped out there, too.
The Fairfield running back/cornerback stopped a receiver with a punishing open-field tackle to force the Comets into a fourth-and-long deep in their territory with 13 seconds left in the game.
Junior defensive lineman Josh Maupin sacked Mason junior quarterback Larson Brown on the next play to clinch the Indians’ 28-21 Division I Region 4 first-round win at Fairfield’s Alumni Stadium.
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Jackson piled up 270 yards on 15 carries and scored touchdowns on runs of 71, 59 and 70 yards, but he was happier with his defense.
“That capped it,” Jackson said. “I had the touchdowns, but I had to finish it.”
The eighth-seeded Indians finished with 297 rushing yards and 361 total yards while limiting ninth-seeded Mason to 167 on the ground and 209 overall on the way to their fourth straight win and fifth in their last six games.
Fairfield (6-4), with its second win over Greater Miami Conference-rival Mason in four weeks, is scheduled to meet top-seeded Moeller in the second round next Friday. The 8-3 Crusaders easily advanced with a 35-14 win over 16th-seeded Oak Hills.
The second-round visit is Fairfield’s second in three years. Fairfield lost as the 10th seed in the first round to seventh-seeded Elder, 42-39, last season.
Senior running back/quarterback Michael Molnar gained 150 yards on 17 carries and scored all three of Mason’s touchdowns on runs of 13, 34 and 38 yards, but Friday’s seven-point loss was Mason’s sixth by single digits this season, including 27-22 at Fairfield on Oct. 8.
“We missed some opportunities,” Mason coach Brian Castner said. “This game should’ve been tied at halftime. We’ve had trouble finishing games this season.”
One Comet opportunity cropped up on senior linebacker Kaden Evans’s interception at the Mason 44-yard line with 9:11 left in the third quarter, but Fairfield junior safety Matthew Humbarger came up with a big stop of junior running back Nick Sailers on fourth down at the Mason 36 to complete a stifling defensive stand.
The Comets also swarmed Molnar on fourth-and-four inside the Mason 35 with 1:49 left in the game to put more pressure on the Comets.
“They’ve been doing it the last few weeks and I had all the faith in the world they would do it again,” said Fairfield coach Jason Krause, whose team had been 2-9 against Mason going back to the 2007 season before winning twice this year, both by single-digit scores. “Things are coming together.”
Senior Sayeed Garnett’s 78-yard return to the Fairfield 21 of the kickoff after the Indians took a 14-0 lead set up Molnar’s first touchdown, but Garnett’s return couldn’t match Jackson’s explosiveness.
F – C. Jackson 56 pass from Fisher (McGuire kick)
F – J. Jackson 71 run (McGuire kick)
M – Molnar 13 run (Hernandez kick)
F – J. Jackson 59 run (McGuire kick)
M – Molnar 34 run (Hernandez kick)
F – J. Jackson 70 run (McGuire kick)
M – Molnar 38 run (Hernandez kick)
Records: Mason 4-7, Fairfield 6-4.
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