The Fayette Falcons opened the 2023 season at home Friday with a convincing win over Carrollton 22-18. The win marked the first ever for Kole Hinton as a head coach.

“It feels good,” Hinton said. “Honestly, it’s a surreal feeling. There were a few times when I couldn’t help but smile. I expect more to come.”

Hinton was not the only first-time head coach on the field. Carrolton was led by a new head coach as well. But Andy Frerking certainly had more pressure than just first-game jitters. The Trojans are still reeling from the death of 17-year-old teammate Parker Minnick as the result of a car accident on Monday, August 14. The Fayette band wore red shirts in support of Carrollton during Friday’s game.

With both teams with new head coaches, neither was sure what their opposition would look like after the opening kickoff. Fayette went into the contest holding a four-game winning streak against the Trojans.

The excessive heat added another element to Friday’s game. Because of triple-digit heat indexes during the week leading up, Hinton said his team didn’t hold regular practices. Instead, practices were shorter, and players weren’t in full pads. Even the game was pushed back an hour due to the hot temperatures.

“It was kind of a weird week of practice,” Hinton said. “I think our kids did a great job of battling the adversity of that. I think that showed on Friday night.”

Hinton said he was happy with the team’s performance after an eye-opening jamboree the prior Friday and an unusual week of practice.

“We’re where we expected to be in Week 1 with such a young team,” Hinton said.

Fayette took control early in the game, capping the opening drive with a six-yard touchdown run by junior Micah Estes.

Fayette showed off its one-two running back punch when sophomore powerhouse Carter Vroman punched the ball across for the two-point conversion to give the Falcons an early 8-0 lead.

“It’s a one-two combo,” Hinton said about his running scheme. “I don’t think people realize with as great as Carter is, Micah is just as good of a runner. He’s just a little bit smaller and a little bit quicker. He’s a good change of pace back there for us.”

Carrollton was able to keep the score close when Kaine Gibson scored on a seven-yard run. But a failed two-point conversion kept the teams separated by two after one quarter.

The Falcons would increase their lead to 10 points early in the second quarter when sophomore running back Carter Vroman scored, breaking two tackles from 11 yards out on an outside run. The score was set up by a big run from Estes that was extended by a facemasking call against the Trojans.

Once again, Fayette tacked on two more points, this time with a pass from junior quarterback Kaleb Friebe to sophomore Payton Oeth to make it 16-6.

“He threw a nice fade ball into the back of the endzone for Payton to go up and get,” Hinton said. “It was a beautiful ball, honestly.”

Oeth hauled in a pass to the endzone on the following drive, this time on defense. After driving down the field, Carrollton quarterback Luke Backes made a toss to the endzone on fourth-and-six with 3:31 left in the first half. Oeth made a two-handed catch to regain possession for the Falcons.

Another interception halted a strong Carrollton drive midway through the third quarter. Friebe picked off a pass and returned it to the Falcon 40-yard line.

Carrollton junior Porter Eiserer brought his Trojans back within striking distance in the third quarter, scoring from one yard out to cut the lead to four points. The drive came on short yardage after a Fayette fumble was recovered around the five-yard line.

Once again, the two-point conversion failed, cutting the Fayette lead from 10 points to four.

Eiserer struck again in the fourth quarter when he broke away for a surprise 46-yard run to put Carrollton on top 18-16. 

“We had a dog pile, and we thought that the runner was down. But he slipped out and just ran past everybody,” Hinton recalled.

Hinton said his team felt out of sync in the second half after putting together such a strong first two quarters.

“We got out of rhythm really bad in the second half. In the first half, we drove every drive that we had,” he said. “When we did things well, we moved the ball. We just have to be more consistent. We can’t be out of rhythm like we were in the second half.”

The Falcons regained their composure with a final drive, resulting in a thrilling go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes. Fayette took over possession with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter and methodically moved the ball downfield while eating up the clock. Vroman finally punched through the middle and ran the ball to the right side of the endzone from 18 yards out to put Fayette back in the lead with one minute to go.

The two-point conversion failed, but Fayette had regained the lead and had only 60 seconds left to hang on for the win.

The Falcon defense sealed the victory a few plays later when Friebe again picked off a pass from Backes. Fayette senior Bryce Callahan put a jarring hit on Backes as the ball was let go to force a wobbly lob.

Both teams scored three touchdowns each. The difference came during the two-point conversion attempts. Fayette was successful on two of those conversions. Defensively, the Falcons denied all three of Carrollton’s attempts.

“We played pretty well [on defense], in my opinion,” Hinton said.

Friebe finished his first game as starting quarterback, completing six of 17 passing attempts for 84 yards. He also picked up 39 yards on eight carries and delivered a pair of two-point conversion passes into the hands of Payton Oeth.

Hinton said he was pleased with his quarterback in his first varsity start. “He’s where we need him to be as a first-time guy.”

Vroman picked up 108 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries to lead the Falcon rushing game.

“He’s as advertised,” Hinton said. “He’s still young. I think people forget that because of his ability. They see how big, strong, and tenacious he is and how well he runs. He’s a kid who hardly asks for a sub for a breather. He’s going both ways like the hardest kid on the field. I was super pleased with him being a silent workhorse and a leader on both sides of the ball.”

Estes finished with 52 yards on 13 carries and the first touchdown of the season for Fayette. 

“I was really pleased with him,” Hinton said. “And I think that he’s settled into that role as being that change of pace guy. He had a few big runs for us.”

The two running backs also led the receiving game for Fayette. Vroman had two catches for 39 yards. Estes made two grabs for 25 yards. Oeth finished with one catch for 10 yards and hauled in both successful two-point conversions.

Defensively, the Falcons stopped four Carrollton drives with turnovers. Friebe made two interceptions, including the game-sealing catch. Oeth picked off one pass, and junior defensive lineman Noah Tecumseh recovered a fumble.

The Falcons make the long road trip to Houston (0-1) next Friday but expect to play in much milder weather. The Tigers fell 25-22 to a very good Orchard Farm team at home in the season opener on Friday.

Hinton said he expects another well-matched game, but Houston’s massive roster could be a difference-maker. 

“Their quarterback is pretty good. And they’re pretty well-coached. I imagine they will be a lot like us. It could be a slugfest like Friday. I think it’ll be a good Week 2.

“We have to prepare Monday that we’ve got a long trip down there. We have to get better every single week. That’s ultimately our goal.”

The Falcons return home on September 8 to open their final season of Lewis & Clark Conference play against Scotland County (0-1). Kickoff is at 7 p.m.