Turnovers and mistakes cost Fayette in a 30-8 loss to Lewis & Clark Conference rival Salisbury for Homecoming on Friday.

The loss is the fourth in a row for the Falcons, who drop to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in Lewis & Clark Conference play.

After trailing 24-0 in the first quarter, the Falcons came within a few yards of the endzone three times but couldn’t punch the ball across. Instead, drives ended with turnovers, either on downs or by way of an interception.

“It’s frustrating when offensively we get so close to the goal line enough times to make the score even, we just can’t finish,” said Fayette coach Kole Hinton.

The Falcons had a chance to score midway through the first quarter after junior running back Micah Estes picked up a first down on a 25-yard run to the Salisbury 27-yard line. But the failure to convert on fourth down ended the drive.

Salisbury turned right around and scored on the next play with an 80-yard pass and run to take a three-touchdown lead less than eight minutes into the game.

Another turnover dashed Fayette’s chances to score in the first quarter when Salisbury’s Gavin Harmon picked off a pass from Fayette quarterback Ledgyr Conrow at the 2-yard line and ran it back 60 yards to set up a drive deep inside Falcon territory. 

Fayette once again dug an early hole. The Falcons committed a turnover the first time they touched the ball. Sophomore De’andre Kioh fumbled the opening kickoff, allowing Salisbury to recover on the Fayette 26-yard line. A minute later, the Panthers scored their first of three opening-period touchdowns. 

“We’re just getting in our own way. Fumbling the opening kickoff again. Jumping offsides. It’s stuff you have to learn to live with. Otherwise, you’ll go nuts,” Hinton said. “You have to let your young guys play through that and continue to get better every week.”

But, as Hinton contends, the win-loss record is not the chief concern for the coaching staff. It’s about a young, inexperienced team getting better week to week. Regardless of the record, the season starts over on the opening night of district play. 

Despite allowing three touchdowns early, the undersized Falcons dug in and held the Panthers scoreless in the second and fourth quarters. Salisbury’s lone touchdown in the second half came in the closing seconds of the third quarter. After driving nearly the length of the field, quarterback Patrick White punched the ball into the endzone to top out his team at 30 points.

“What we talked about at halftime was playing with effort, playing with technique, and that’s all we ask. If we do those things, we’re in a pretty good position to win,” Hinton said. “We are just young. It is what it is. Our left guard and our center got demolished by a kid who is the same size as them combined.

Our defense started to get closer to a lot more passes in the second half. That’s the part of improvement that we see and that we’re happy about.”

Fayette finally scored in the third quarter. After pushing the ball inside the 5-yard line, sophomore Jaron Cross popped across the goal line on a trick play. As quarterback Ledgyr Conrow appeared to be looking at his sideline for the play call, Cross lined up behind the center, took the snap, and ran it in. Before anyone realized what had happened, the Falcons had put six points on the board.

“We motioned him across. The other guys turned to look like they’re checking the play, he gets under center and just goes,” Hinton explained. “It was good we got it to him. We’ve done it a few times with Carter, but it was good for Jaron to get one too.”

Estes then ran for a two-point conversion to make it a two-score game.

The Falcons would have to settle for just one touchdown in what would become their fourth-straight loss. Fayette’s last win came was by one point on September 8 against Scotland County, 36-35. Since then, Fayette has struggled to score, losing by no fewer than 22 points. 

Conrow completed eight of 19 passing attempts for 101 yards and an interception in his second game as Fayette’s starting quarterback. The freshman completed passes to five separate receivers.

“There are some play calls where I’m scheming, and I want him to throw to a certain receiver. Other times, I’m willing to trust that he will make the right read. And most of the time, he does,” Hinton said about his developing quarterback. “Sometimes the ball gets batted down at the line of scrimmage by a 6’ 5 guy.”

Conrow’s top target was once again sophomore Payton Oeth, who caught two passes for 27 yards. Sophomore running back Carter Vroman, who sat out the second half after turning an ankle, caught one pass for a 24-yard gain. Junior Kaleb Friebe made two grabs for 21 yards. Estes had two catches for 15 yards, and Kioh made one catch for four yards.

On the ground, Vroman picked up 54 yards on 11 carries in two quarters of action. Estes also carried the ball 11 times for 54 yards, with a long rush of 21 yards. 

On Friday, the Falcons travel to Harrisburg to face a team also struggling, but in entirely opposite ways.

While Fayette has 35 players on the roster, most are young and inexperienced. Freshmen and sophomores are starting alongside a smattering of upperclassmen. Harrisburg, meanwhile, has dressed just 16 players the last two games, most of whom are veterans. And while the Bulldogs sport a record of just one win against six losses, three of their last four losses have been decided by five or fewer points. And their offense has averaged 33 points in those last four games. 

“They’re very deceptive because they’ve only got 19 kids or so,” Hinton said. “You think it should be a walk-through. But they’re all young kids that are missing. They’re not like us, where it’s the top half that we’re missing. It’s going to be a veteran squad versus a younger squad.”

Harrisburg gave up a halftime lead last week to fall 41-36 at No. 5-ranked Westran in what amounted to a moral victory. Three weeks prior, the Hornets blanked Fayette 49-0.

Friday’s game kicks off at 7 p.m. in Harrisburg. It will be the final meeting of the two teams as members of the Lewis & Clark Conference. Both schools elected to leave the conference in order to help form the Central State 8 next year with six other teams. Fayette has been a member of the L&C since its inception in 1973. Harrisburg won the conference title a year ago but has since lost two of its three conference games this season.

Next Friday, the Falcons host undefeated Father Tolton Regional Catholic for senior night in the final game of the regular season. The Trailblazers have won four of their seven games by way of shutout, including Salisbury in the season opener 54-0.