Football Team Ends Season after Area Playoff Game

Starting this week, Fairfield Boys Athletics will be moving on from the 2018 Football Season after completing their final game in the second round of the 4A District Playoffs against the Gilmer Buckeyes.

“I think the best quality the team had was that they were a tight group,” head coach John Bachtel said. “They saw the team as a family. They believed in each other and they all played for each other.”

The Eagles Football team will take on the next season without the seniors that made up almost half of the team.

“We will lose 24 seniors, all of which invested a lot for Fairfield,” Bachtel said. “I hope that the sophomores and juniors have learned from watching them prepare for practice and play in games.”

Most of the seniors were starters for several positions on the field.

“I really hate that it had to end earlier than expected,” senior Jordan Gibson said, “but I really did enjoy spending every moment with my teammates and coaches throughout this great season. We improved a lot overall as a team. We made a lot less mistakes towards the end of the season that hurt us in the beginning of the season.”

Throughout the season, the Eagles won all of their pre-district games, all but two of their district challenges, and made it to the second round of playoffs.

“I’m proud of this team,” Bachtel said. “They have come a long way in that they learned how to rely on others. They formed a bond that will never be broken.”

The football team for next year will lose these 24 players, and the class of 2020 seniors will take their spots as the oldest on the team.

“The team is going to lose a lot of seniors,” Gibson said, “so it looks like they really are going to have some big shoes to fill. But, if they put the work in, they will have a successful season.”