The Indians, trailing since the 2:34 mark of the first quarter, took their first lead of the game with 8:15 to play. Carmack found Joe Hayes over the middle for a 22-yard touchdown strike to give Fairfield a 28-24 lead over the Aviators (2-4, 1-2).
“He kind of came into his own tonight,” Fairfield coach Jason Krause said of Carmack. “I told him that after the game. I thought he played a great game and made some great decisions. He was accurate and put the ball where it needed to go.”
The second Carmack-Mitchell touchdown connection jump-started the comeback effort in the third period as the Indians were a play away from spoiling a first-and-goal inside the Sycamore 10.
Mitchell caught Carmack’s floating screen, made an excellent cut to his right and scored from 15 yards out, blowing by a pair of Sycamore defenders to cut the Aviators’ lead to 21-14.
“James has great balance and change of direction,” Krause said. “He has great instincts, he’s a competitor, and he’s a winner. I’ve coached football for a long time, and that dude would always have a spot on my team.”
Mitchell compiled 151 receiving yards on 11 catches, including a 44-yard catch-and-run to set up his third touchdown of the night that pulled Fairfield within three points. The senior tied the single-game school record for receptions, equaling Tyron Harper (vs. Beavercreek in 2013) and T.C. Wells (vs. Elder in 2015)
Carmack spread the other half of his completions around to other teammates, completing 22 of 31 attempts for 356 yards and leading an FHS offense that scored touchdowns on all four of its second-half possessions. Only two other Fairfield quarterbacks have thrown for more yards in a game — Miles Harris vs. Sycamore in 2012 (454) and Hunter Krause vs. Hamilton in 2013 (362).
“We’ve got to, eventually, stop somebody,” Sycamore coach Scott Dattilo said. “We haven’t done it all year long, and that’s why we’re in the position we’re in. Just too many mistakes.”
The Aviators dominated the scoreboard in the first half, gouging the Indians for big passing plays down the field. Quarterback Jake Borman hit Myron Williams in stride for an 85-yard touchdown to go up 14-0 on the Indians in the early stages of the second quarter and later connected with Jonathan Malek on a 50-yard TD to give the visitors their 21-7 halftime lead.
“You gear up all week to stop Ra’Von Bonner,” Krause said. “We knew their quarterback was a threat, but maybe we didn’t know he was that big of a threat with his arm. He hit a couple of big throws over top of us, and I think that it shocked us a little bit. But that just speaks to them and their coaching staff that they were able to do that.”
Bonner, a recent University of Illinois commit, was held to 88 yards on 18 carries, snapping his streak of four straight games with at least 100 rushing yards, while Borman was 13 of 23 for 307 yards.
“We thought we could get some mismatches by spreading them out, and we did,” Dattilo said. “We were able to run the ball well in the second half too, but we settled for field goals twice in the red zone in the second half instead of finishing with touchdowns.”
Trailing for the first time 28-24, the Aviators found themselves with a first-and-goal from the Fairfield 7 after a 53-yard catch by Malek.
An incomplete pass on first down, a false start on second down and a big third-down sack by Fairfield’s Sam Meddings forced Sycamore to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Jacob Hasslebeck.
Meddings had five tackles as well as the game-clinching interception.
“I think defensively our kids played with a lot of will,” Krause said. “We started to get to the quarterback a little bit after that first quarter, and I think that made a big difference.”
The Indians face a difficult road test next Friday as they travel to Mason to take on the Comets (4-2, 2-1). The Aviators head home to take on Lakota East (3-3, 2-1).
“We knew this Sycamore team was better than their record showed,” Krause said. “And now we have to go to Mason next week. We have to continue to just take things one week at a time.”
Sycamore 7-14-3-3—27
Fairfield 0-7-14-14—35
S: Ra’Von Bonner 3 run (Kick failed)
S: Myron Williams 85 pass from Jake Borman (Jacob Hasslebeck kick)
F: James Mitchell 10 pass from Aaron Carmack (Jerred McGuire kick)
S: Jonathan Malek 50 pass from Borman (Hasslebeck kick)
F: Mitchell 15 pass from Carmack (McGuire kick)
S: Hasslebeck 40 field goal
F: Mitchell 5 pass from Carmack (McGuire kick)
F: Joe Hayes 22 pass from Carmack (McGuire kick)
S: Hasslebeck 32 field goal
F: Chico Robinson 40 run (McGuire kick)
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