By Charlie Sorrells

Sentinel Sports Editor

FAIRMONT — Class AAA No. 4-ranked Fairmont assembled an unforgettable 42-14 Homecoming football win over upset-minded New Ulm on Friday night at Thomas Mahoney Field.

“I can’t remember when a Homecoming game contained all the things that happened tonight,” said Cardinals’ head coach Mat Mahoney. “We scored once on special teams, twice through the air, twice on the ground and the last one (touchdown) on an incredibly athletic pick-6.

“And I have to give our fans credit for sticking with us through two 30-minute lightning delays, right to the final snap. It was great to see our fans pack the stands tonight.”

Junior running back Elijah Johnson, who generated a game-best 105 yards and one TD on 16 carries, senior quarterback Blaze Geiger and senior wideout Levi Pooley combined to engineer the Cardinals’ game-opening 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive.

Johnson and Geiger combined for 34 yards on the ground, while the Homecoming King displayed his accurate throwing arm by threading three completions to the sure-handed Pooley.

Pooley, who netted 56 yards on five catches, hauled in Geiger’s perfect 25-yard toss for six points before Kellen Stenzel kicked the first of his six perfect PATs on the game for a quick 7-0 lead at the 7:49 juncture.

After end Gage Borntrager, tackle Parker Mathiason and Fairmont’s unyielding defense forced New Ulm into an initial three-and-out series, Pooley struck like lightning on special teams.

Pooley drifted backward, snagged the Eagles’ punt, sprinted left, broke a tackle and sprinted 67 yards for a TD — the first of his prep football career. Stenzel’s kick doubled the gap to 14-0 with 6:33 left in the first quarter.

Lightning then lit up the dark sky to force a 30-minute delay at the 5:56 mark of the opening frame.

“I had our players take off their shoulder pads and helmets, and turned off the lights in the field house’s locker room to help them relax during the first delay,” said Mahoney.

Unfortunately for Fairmont, New Ulm defensive end Colton Benson recovered a fumble seven plays out of the break to set up the visitors’ scoring march, albeit a questionable horse-collar infraction helped sustain the drive.

Quarterback Ayden Jensen, who threw for 127 yards on 8 of 18 passing, later threaded an 11-yard throw to Preston Holberg to reach Fairmont’s 9. Jensen covered the remaining distance on a bulldozing run up the middle to whittle New Ulm’s deficit to 14-6 with 10:39 left in the second quarter.

Geiger went to work through the air promptly and zipped a 19-yarder to Nolan Schultze and a 14-yarder to Mathew Cone to cross over into Eagles’ territory on the ensuing possession.

After a personal foul infraction on New Ulm, Johnson pounded out an 8-yard hammering gain and capped the series with a 5-yard TD around left end. Stenzel’s kick made it 21-6 with 8:20 left in the first half.

“Having Nolan back at receiver for the first time since he got hurt against Belle Plaine really sparked our passing game tonight,” Mahoney said in reference to Schultze, who made five receptions for 84 yards and one score.

Borntrager and the Cardinals’ swarming defense — which allowed only 202 yards of offense — came out of the game’s second lightning delay with a little thunder. Borntrager sacked Jensen to later force the Eagles to punt.

Geiger utilized his strong accurate arm to connect with a bevy of Cardinal relievers to march 86 yards to paydirt in a dozen snaps, leaving only 1 minute to go in the delayed opening half.

Geiger hit Pooley twice for a total of 14 yards, Cone on a 7-yarder, Jace Teveldal on an 11-yard seam route and Schultze on one of the catches of the game. Geiger rolled right and delivered a dart to Schultze, who dove and made a mid-air catch parallel to the ground for a 15-yard TD. Stenzel’s kick extended Fairmont’s lead to 28-6 by intermission.

Jensen spotted speedster Zach Hubbard on a right-hash route into the Cardinals’ secondary and Hubbard sprinted away for a 70-yard scoring reception. Jensen rumbled into the end zone for the 2-point conversion to narrow the gap to 28-14 with 11:01 left in the third quarter.

Fairmont’s following drive was all Elijah Johnson from beginning to end. Johnson returned the kickoff 34 yards before the Cardinals added 15 more yards on a personal foul on the tackle.

Johnson broke tackle-after-tackle in reeling off a 24-yard run before Geiger connected with Schultze to reach the 14. Johnson accelerated over the left side to cover the distance for six more points. Stenzel’s kick made it 35-14 with 9:31 left in the third.

Unfortunately for New Ulm, after driving into Fairmont’s red zone during the late stages of the third segment, the meticulous march ended — literally in the hands of Borntrager.

Jensen fired a pass that Borntrager elevated to grab with both hands along the left end, maintained his balance and outsprinted everyone 80 yards to the end zone for a pick-6. Stenzel kicked his sixth and final PAT for a 42-14 lead with 10:44 remaining in regulation.

Fairmont (5-0) travels to Marshall next Friday night, while New Ulm (3-2) plays host to St. Peter during Week 6.

New Ulm 0 6 8 0 — 14

Fairmont 14 14 7 7 — 42

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

FMT–Levi Pooley 25 pass from Blaze Geiger (Kellen Stenzel kick), 7:49.

FMT–Pooley 67 punt return (Stenzel kick), 6:33.

2nd Quarter

NU–Ayden Jensen 9 run (kick failed), 10:39.

FMT–Elijah Johnson 5 run (Stenzel kick), 8:20.

FMT–Nolan Schultze 15 pass from Geiger (Stenzel kick), 1:00.

3rd Quarter

NU–Zach Hubbard 70 pass from Jensen (Jensen run), 11:01.

FMT–E. Johnson 14 run (Stenzel kick), 9:31.

4th Quarter

FMT–Gage Borntrager 80 interception return (Stenzel kick), 10:44.