Fairview Wins State Football Championship Game

It was a great community celebration. Fairview's residents and alumni gathered in a huge fashion at the Class C state football championship game held at Rocky Mountain College in Billings. The Warriors didn't disappoint. They needed only 12 seconds to take the lead and went on to crush Alberton-Superior, 70-6, on Saturday afternoon.

Fairview's football standouts understand how much the school's first state football title means to the team, school and entire town.

"It's everything," senior Jesse Selting, who scored three touchdowns, said. "We've been working so long for this."

The seniors noted that the Warriors dropping two state title games this decade, including one to Alberton- Superior, provided a little bit of extra motivation.

"It was heart-breaking. Our community has a lot of pride especially for its sports teams," Cody Asbeck said. "This means everything."

Selting added, "We finally got some revenge. It's amazing."

How much the title means could easily be seen in quarterback/defensive back Alex Schriver's face as he tried to hold back tears of joy prior to accepting the state trophy. "As you can see, everybody is here," he said of the fan support. "The whole town has come down for this."

Schriver delivered perhaps the best game of his career. The senior intercepted three passes and was involved in eight touchdowns. He ran for 123 yards and passed for 281 yards.

"The offensive line has been so good this year," Schriver said as he shared the credit. "They made holes bigger than I can say."

He entered the game with five interceptions for the season. "We came in knowing they will pass a little bit," Schriver said. "Our defensive line was amazing for putting on pressure."

Fairview didn't just finish the season undefeated but every game was won by a large margin.

"Our defense has been playing so well," Asbeck said. "We played our best game of the season."

The contest started off with a bang for the Warriors. Most teams don't kick the ball to Asbeck, but apparently Alberton-Superior didn't receive that memo. The result was a 72-yard kickoff return by Asbeck for a touchdown.

"I was thinking they were probably going to do an on-sides kick or a squib kick," Asbeck said of the Mountain Cats' decision. "Hey, it worked out. We've had some success on special teams lately."

On their first offensive possession, the Warriors put together a 68-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 37-yard touchdown pass from Schriver to Selting with eight minutes left in the first quarter.

"I saw the coverage. I got the feeling that Alex was going to get me the ball, and he did," Selting said.

After an interception by Schriver, Fairview reached the end zone when Schriver made several great moves on a 38-yard quarterback keeper run. Schriver passed to Braiden Taylor for a two-point conversion and 20-0 advantage with 4:54 left in the quarter.

Fairview's defense, led by Josh Herron, Ethan Neu, Tom Neu and B. Taylor, then stopped the Mountain Cats on a fourth-down run attempt. The Warriors went on to score when Asbeck made an amazing "You got Mossed," leaping catch for a 29-yard touchdown play with 3:18 left in the period.

The Warriors' final touchdown of the first quarter came on a 67-yard shovel pass play from Schriver to Selting with 1:46 remaining. Schriver passed to Brady Buxbaum for a 34-0 advantage.

The Mountain Cats got on the scoreboard when Trey Green ran in from seven yards out with 11 minutes remaining in the half.

Fairview responded with a 46-yard scoring drive. A 28-yard pass from Schriver to Herron was good for a first down at the six. Three plays later, Asbeck scored on a two-yard run. Schriver ran in the conversion for a 42-6 lead.

After another interception by Schriver, the senior quarterback broke loose for a 31-yard touchdown dash. A conversion pass from Schriver to Asbeck put the margin at 50-6.

The Warriors ended the half with a 21-yard touchdown throw from Schriver to Selting for a 56-6 half-time lead.

Alberton-Superior put together a scoring threat to open the third quarter, but the possession ended on strong defensive plays by Easton Hopes and Selting. The Warriors then scored when Asbeck took a screen pass 64 yards for a touchdown.

Late in the third quarter, Schriver intercepted a screen pass and raced 34 yards for a touchdown. Asbeck got in for the two-point conversion for a 70-6 advantage.

That was the end of the game's scoring as a very loud and proud fan base prepared to celebrate as a community for a record-breaking football season.