Fayette ended its season Friday night with a 64-0 loss at Salisbury in the Class 1 District 7 semifinals.

It was the Falcons’ second loss this season to the No. 2 ranked team in all of Class 1. The Panthers earned the top seed in the district that included a first-round bye last week, finishing the regular season unbeaten at 9-0. They will defend their district title at home Friday night against second-seeded Westran, which defeated Van Far, the third seed, on Friday.

Fayette took to the cold gridiron without two starters due to injury: senior fullback and leading tackler, Brodi Tucker, and sophomore running back and linebacker Paxtyn Llewellyn. It was the second game in row without Tucker, who rushed for 540 yards and six touchdowns this season, averaging 4.86 yards per carry on 111 rushes in nine games.

“He’s a heck of a football player. He cares so much about doing well. And he became really coachable,” said first-year Fayette coach Kenny Grubb about Tucker.

Defensively, Tucker led the Falcons with 114 tackles, a team-high 39 solo tackles, and five tackles for loss. He also made a fumble recovery.

The Falcons produced a solid defensive stop to open the game. After the Panthers returned the opening kickoff to midfield, Fayette held them to fourth-and-two. Salisbury failed to complete a pass on fourth down and turned the ball over on downs.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, they were unable to move the sticks all night, picking up just two first downs.

“Everything that could go wrong did,” said Coach Grubb about the final game of the season. “A lot of it was the same stuff we’ve seen different times throughout the year. We’re still getting better. We still get out of whack defensively.”

Even when things did go right for the Falcons, they quickly reversed. A case in point would be an Fayette interception in the second half. Senior Colten Cross picked off a Salisbury pass, only to fumble the ball seconds later, converting what should have been a turnover into a sizeable gain for the Panthers.

“I told them at halftime, our goal has been to be a better football team all year long,” said Grubb, who was tasked with rebuilding a team that had three losing seasons in a row. “You can’t always look at scores to understand that. We asked them to prove that they were better tonight. We probably didn’t do that. But I saw a better football team tonight than I did in Week 1.”

The Falcons were coming off their first postseason win since Grubb took over the team this season. Fayette defeated rival Harrisburg in the first round of the playoffs after losing to the Bulldogs in the final week of the regular season on an emotionally challenging night. But Fayette couldn’t continue the momentum into the semifinals Friday night.

“We had a great week of practice. It felt like postseason football practice. I saw our guys trying to fight all night,” Grubb said.

Salisbury scored its first of four first-quarter touchdowns on its second possession of the game, a 51-yard scoring run by Austin Cravens. The senior scored again on another long run on the Panthers’ next drive, this time from 46 yards.

Salisbury led 28-0 after one quarter and 42-0 at halftime. The Panthers scored three more times in the second half to win 64-0.

Salisbury racked up 490 total yards, 443 of which came from the rushing game.

Fayette struggled against the No. 2 ranked team in Missouri, advancing the ball just 51 yards all night. Most of those positive yards came from underclassmen. Freshman Reed Syferd led the rushing game with 16 yards, followed by classmate Chase Vandelicht with 14 yards and sophomore Kielin Pulliam with 13.

The loss marked the final game for five of Fayette’s six seniors who suited up Friday. The Falcons lose considerable experience at skill positions, starting with quarterback Colten Cross. In his second year starting behind center, Cross completed nearly half of his passes (41-for-87) for 552 yards and three touchdowns. He did most of his work on the ground, leading the rushing game with 169 carries for 673 yards and six touchdowns, an average of more than 67 yards a game.

“I watched him grow into a leader. He has become a guy I trust to lead our football team,” Grubb said.

Cross also made 40 tackles (15 solo) with two interceptions at defensive back, plaing both sides of the ball.

Cross’s main target all year has been senior Ky Cunningham, who moved from wide receiver a year ago to tight end. He made a team-high 12 grabs for 267 yards, averaging 22.25 yards per catch this season. Defensively, he recorded 33 tackles (7 solo) with an interception and a fumble recovery.

“He’s a great athlete,” said Coach Grubb. “We knew he played safety and wide receiver last year. We asked him about playing tight end. And he went and did it. We even played him a little bit at running back. Defensively, we moved him from safety to outside linebacker. He would’ve done whatever he could have to help our football team.”

Senior Isaiah Monckton anchored the offensive and defensive lines all season. Coach Grubb said he never stopped working to improve, even through to the last whistle of possibly his final game ever on Friday night.

“He fought some injuries off this year and became a better football player as we went. He was constantly looking for ways to improve.”

The team’s ironman this year was senior Ledgyr Conrow, who played more snaps than any player on the roster this season.

“There were multiple games when Ledgyr did not get a play off,” Grubb said. “He played every single down. He was on every special teams play. He was a starter on offense and defense. There were games when he played every down.”

Conrow rushed 18 times this season, but racked up most of his yards at receiver, making eight catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Conrow made 41 tackles (17 solo). On special teams, he also served as the team’s kicker and punter.

Fayette will also lose some critical size on the line. James Cowans played his only year of high school football after sitting out the first three seasons. He missed the opening two games due to a late start to the season, playing his first and final high school games on the Salisbury field.

“James played in junior high and had not played since. He came and told me he wanted to get better and be a better person,” Grubb explained. “You talk about a guy who threw himself into it and got better every day. He really is an excellent young man who is continuing to grow up. He goes to work every day at everything he does. I have a ton of respect for him.”

Fayette finishes the season 3-9 overall. The Falcons won their first home game of the season 12-7 over Trenton, picked up a Central State 8 conference win at Linn 30-0, and won their first district game 12-8 at Harrisburg.

While the Falcons lose six seniors, a strong group of underclassmen gained considerable varsity experience this year and are expected to contribute to the rebuilding process in years to come.

Coach Grubb said the goal this year was to be a better team at the end of the season than in Week 1. And his team accomplished that. “At the very beginning, we talked and said we were going to get better every day and be better in Week 10 than we were in Week 1. Our goal was to win in Week 10 and play another game. And we did that. Are we happy? No. But these kids gave us everything they had. And we can be proud of that.”

Much of the team’s continued improvement will come in the offseason, particularly in the weight room, before the Falcons take the field again on August 27, 2027, at home against Carrollton.

“We have to get back to work and get better. We have to get stronger. We have to get bigger and faster. There are a lot of guys in that huddle to be proud of. I’m proud to be their coach,” Grubb said.