The Fayette Falcons ended an embattled regular season with a 56-0 loss at home to the No. 8 ranked team in Class 2, Father Tolton Regional Catholic, on Friday. 

The loss marked Fayette’s sixth in a row to finish the regular season 2-7 overall.

Fayette coach Kole Hinton knew Friday’s senior night matchup was going to be tough against an unbeaten Fr. Tolton. The big Class 2 Trailblazers entered Friday’s game 8-0 and have now secured the top seed in their district along with a No. 8 ranking in the state.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Hinton said. “We’re just worried about us and trying to get better.”

Fayette entered Friday’s game shorthanded. Sophomore running back Carter Vroman, sophomore full back Jaron Cross, and junior lineman Jacob Wood were all sidelined after sustaining injuries the week prior at Harrisburg.

Hinton said he held those three key players out of the game mainly as a precaution. “Some of them couldn’t go this week. Next week is really what matters,” he said.

That put much of the offensive responsibility on junior running back Micah Estes and freshman quarterback Ledgyr Conrow. Estes is half of Fayette’s two-man rushing attack, along with Vroman. Hinton challenged him before the game to step up and lead the team.

“He ran well. I think he’s used to taking a backseat to Carter. I think he’s comfortable in that role, but I challenged him to step up as a leader,” Hinton said. “I think he did step up and offensively ran the ball really well.”

Estes picked up 79 yards on 22 carries. He also made one catch for five yards.

“Our bread-and-butter plays, we did well on, we just weren’t super consistent, which is a theme of this year,” Hinton said.

Conrow struggled against a big, talented Tolton defense, completing just nine of 19 passes for 68 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Three of those passes were caught by sophomore wide receiver Payton Oeth for 35 total yards. Junior Kaleb Friebe made two receptions for 18 yards. Sophomore Dandre Kioh made two grabs for seven yards.

Friday’s game was the third between the two teams in as many years. Fayette won the first matchup in 2021 but fell by four points a year ago. Tolton now holds a 2-1 record against the Falcons.

Tolton scored early and often throughout the first half to build a 49-0 lead at the break. The Trailblazers’ final touchdown came on the opening kickoff of the second half. Senior Cameron Lee blazed down the field to make the score 56-0 just seconds into the third quarter.

Hinton said he is proud of how his young, banged-up team played despite the lopsided score. “I was more proud this week than I was last week. Last week was kind of a debacle. This week, we did better. We still had quite a few mistakes. But we were better.”

The Falcons enter the postseason as the bottom seed in the nine-team Class 1 District 2 field and must play a qualifying game against Russellville, the eighth seed, for a chance to compete in the district tournament. The remaining seven teams will have a bye week.

St. Vincent and Crystal City secured the top two spots in the district, both with regular season records of 6-3. 

“We know that it’s a winnable game,” Hinton said about traveling to Russellville on Friday. “We’re pretty banged up at the worst possible time of the season. We have to win or go home.”

Hinton said he is looking forward to Friday’s play-in game, as opposed to opening the postseason against a top seed. “We have a Week 10 game that is more competitive. We want to have the honor of going into the tournament because we’ve done our job. We are excited for it. I think it’ll be a good playoff atmosphere.”

Fayette has only faced Russellville one other time. The Falcons won 46-8 in the district opener last year. The Indians also finished the 2023 regular season with a 2-7 record, having lost their last five games. One of their two wins came against Carrollton, a team the Falcons also defeated this season.

Friday’s game could be the first of what has the potential to develop into a rivalry between Fayette and Russellville. Both are leaving their respective conferences after this year to form the Central State 8 next fall. Harrisburg, Eugene, Linn, New Bloomfield, South Callaway, and Tipton will round out the eight-team conference.

The two teams face off at 7 p.m. on Friday in Russellville.