ABOVE: Trevor Maakestad fired up after a defensive stop against Waseca in the Section 3AAA championship game in New Ulm on November 1.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont Cardinals (8-2) are preparing for their matchup against the Dassel-Cokato (9-1) in the Class AAA State Tournament Saturday at 3 p.m. at Minneapolis Washburn High School after coming of a 17-12 win over Waseca in the Section 3AAA Championship game to punch their ticket to the tournament.

“I think we can do a little bit of everything,” said Fairmont football head coach Mat Mahoney. “We’re still gonna try and run the football, but at the same time, you know we feel pretty comfortable throwing the football against these guys”

In the game against Waseca running back Elijah Johnson led the Cardinal offense with 45 carries for 190 yards and two touchdowns, also adding two catches for five yards. Quarterback Joe Long added 10 carries for 53 yards went 7 for 9 through the air totaling 27 yards. On the receiving end was Hank Artz who caught three for 11 yards, while Nolan Schultze snagged two for 11 yards on the night. Defensive standout Trevor Maakestad managed to take the Waseca quarterback to the ground three times in the Cardinals’ win, redeeming themselves for their loss in the final game of the regular season.

Dassel-Cokato, coming off of a 33-18 win against Litchfield, is another run-heavy offense that will test the Cardinals’ defensive front. In Dassel-Cakato’s last game, running back Caleb Smock had 26 carries for 129 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Cole Veith came out of that match up with a 100% completion percentage for 33 yards, while Isaac Salmen had 13 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown.

“Dassel does a really good job controlling the line of scrimmage,” said Mahoney. “I mean really they have one formation, and it’s a double tight wishbone, and their goal is to run the football. So we have to be very disciplined, very sound. We have to make sure that we get enough hats on the ball and and not let them control the line of scrimmage”

The Cardinals showed further versatility in their ground game against Waseca, showing a wildcat option that proved to be effective against the Bluejays’ defensive front. In addition to that, turnover prevention was a huge factor that Fairmont got under control. Despite the ball coming loose on more than one occasion, the Cardinals were able to rapidly cover the ball and maintain possession, something that the Cardinals have been working on over the course of the season. Long showed solid decision making when they did take to the air, not forcing his passes and keeping the ball out of reach of the opposing defense.

The return of Maakestad seemed to revitalize the Cardinals defense, who were struggling with outside containment. The height of the defensive ends also proved to be extremely disruptive in the pass game.

“Our ends, Hank [Artz] and Maakestad, they’re both very quick,” said Mahoney. “They’re both very athletic, and what’s unique about them is that they can squeeze down to stop the run, but then they can also get upfield and you know get to the quarterback and knock down passes, [to] try and speed up that quarterback progression a little bit.”

The quarterfinal game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. kick off at Minneapolis Washburn High School on Saturday November 9. Tickets are available at https://www.mshsl.org/tickets and are $13 for adults and $9 for students.