West Liberty-Salem’s undefeated season came to a halt Friday as host Fairbanks jumped ahead early and held on for a 26-20 win over the Tigers in Ohio Heritage Conference North Division play. The Tigers, who are ranked 10th in the latest Division V state poll, fall to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the league. The Panthers move to 5-2, 2-0. Friday’s game turned out to be another close battle between WL-Salem and Fairbanks. The past two meetings were decided by just three points. The Panthers held a 20-0 lead at halftime Friday, but saw the Tigers rally in the second half. WL-Salem scored a touchdown with 9:49 left in the game to trail 26-20, but could not get any closer. WL-Salem outgained Fairbanks 367-161 in total offense. That did not translate to points, though, as the Panthers dominated the first half with three touchdowns.
The first quarter saw Fairbanks quarterback Braxton Wilhelm throw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Griffith with 3:09 left on the clock for a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter, the Panthers’ Cade Ziegler kicked a 36-yard field goal at the 8:08 mark for a 10-0 lead. Seconds later, Fairbanks’ Riordin Stauffer intercepted a WL-Salem pass and took it back for a score. That put the Panthers up 20-0 with 5:53 left to play in the half.
Fairbanks scored its final touchdown of the game in the the third quarter as Wilhelm punched in a 1-yard touchdown run that gave the hosts a commanding 26-0 advantage. WL-Salem did not quit, though. The Tigers’ Trevor Woodruff threw a 54-yard TD pass to Zach Rosedale to make it a 26-7 score. Woodruff put WL-Salem in the end zone again later in the third quarter with a 1-yard TD pass to Zach Glock at the 2:05 mark. That left the Tigers trailing 26-13.
WL-Salem continued to battle its way back in the fourth quarter with another score. Isaiah McGill broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run with 9:49 left to play in the game. That pulled the Tigers to within six, but they could not put anymore points on the board. Woodruff completed 14-of-36 passes for 252 yards to highlight WL-Salem’s offense. McGill finished with 95 rushing yards on 19 carries, Jace Wade had 72 receiving yards on five grabs and Rosedale had 70 receiving yards on two catches.
Defensively for the Tigers, Kyle Wolfe led with 10 1/2 tackles and a sack, Trenton Doutwaite had seven tackles, Isaac Lee had seven tackles and a sack and Dawson Jenkins added six tackles.
WL-Salem hosts West Jefferson on Friday in a battle of state-ranked teams.