Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

ROCKSPRINGS — The “D” in Dragons stands for defense.

Putting together another strong defensive performance, the Fairland Dragons beat the Meigs Marauders 30-12 on Friday.

“Our defense played very well. We had two picks (interceptions) and two lost fumbles. We were lucky because our defense kept us in the game,” said Fairland coach Dave Carroll.

“Our defense was the key to the win last week and that was the key to our win this week. I can’t say enough about them and my coaches.”

Fairland limited Meigs to a mere 33 net yards rushing. Quarterback Kaileb Sheets was 10 of 23 passing for 145 yards, but 62 came on one play.

Offensively the Dragons racked up 400 total yards with 253 coming on the ground. Kyle Sowards had 109 yards on six carries, Nathan Campbell 90 yards on 18 attempts and Tyree Ceasar 63 yards on seven rushes.

Dragons’ quarterback Chance Short was 12 of 15 passing for 147 yards.

Fairland built a 24-12 halftime lead and shut down the Meigs’ offense in the second half.

The Dragon (2-0) scored first when Ceasar got loose on a 54-yard run. Derrick Willis ran for the conversion and it was 8-0 with 2:25 on the clock.

The two teams then each scored in a period of 1:13.

After an exchange of fumbles, Sheets hit Jordan Hutton on a 62-yard pass play to get Meigs within 8-6, but Sowards bolted 88 yards for a touchdown on the Dragons’ first play following the kickoff. Cody Midkiff added the conversion run for a 16-6 lead.

The lead went to 24-6 on a 2-yard run by Campbell with 1:31 left in the half.

Sowards and Ty Phelps traded interceptions, but Phelps returned his 63 yards for a touchdown as Meigs climbed to within 22-12 at the half.

Meigs (0-2) threatened in the third quarter following a Cody Stewart interception in Fairland territory. But on fourth-and-13, Phelps was tackled 2 yards shy of the first down at the 12.

Fairland then drove the ball the length of the field with Campbell going 4 yards for the clinching touchdown with 8:05 left in the game.

Fairland 16 8 0 6 = 30

Meigs 6 6 0 0 = 12

First Quarter

Fa — Tyree Ceasar 54 run (Derrick Willis run) 2:25

Me — Jordan Hutton 62 pass from Kaileb Sheets (kick failed) 1:27

Fa — Kyle Sowards 88 run (Cody Midkiff run) 1:11

Second Quarter

Fa — Nathan Campbell 2 run (Kyle Sowards pass from Chance Short) 1:31

Me — Ty Phelps 63 interception return (run failed) 0:51

Fourth Quarter

Fa — Nathan Campbell 4 run (kick failed) 8:05.

Fa Me

First downs 19 7

Rushes-yards 39-253 24-33

Yards passing 147 145

Total yards 400 178

Cmp-Att-Int 12-15-1 10-23-1

Fumbles-lost 4-2 1-1

Penalties 8-63 12-121

Punts-average 1-31.0 3-36.0

Individual Leaders

RUSHING—Fairland: Kyle Sowards 6-110, Nathan Campbell 18-90, Tyree Ceasar 7-63, Chance Short 8-minus 9; Meigs: Andrew Burt 8-27, Ty Phelps 3-21, Jordan Hutton 5-13, Michael Davis 1-5, Dillon Boyer 1-minus 9, Kaileb Sheets 6-minus 24.

PASSING—Fairland: Chance Short 12-15-2 147; Meigs: Kaileb Sheets 11-26-1 145.

RECEIVING—Fairland: Nathan Campbell 5-82, Kyle Sowards 5-50, Tyree Ceasar 2-15; Meigs: Ty Phelps 7-30, Jordan Hutton 1-62, Blaine Perry 2-22, Michael Davis 1-1.