“It’s about high school kids and experiences,” he said. “I think homecoming and everything tied along with it — the dance, the pep assembly, all that stuff — is a great experience. I want kids to have good memories of homecoming. I can still remember my homecoming game as a senior at Edgewood against Dayton Carroll.
WEEK 7 FOOTBALL COVERAGE
“This is about being a Fairfield Indian. People are coming back and want to see how good your team is. They want to come back and see who’s wearing the jersey number they wore back then. We want to make sure we show up for those people.”
Fairfield is 5-1 overall, 4-0 in the Greater Miami Conference, and locked in a three-way tie with Colerain (6-0, 4-0) and Mason (5-1, 4-0) atop the GMC. The latter two teams will meet at Mason on Friday.
Sycamore (4-2, 2-2) and Lakota East (4-2, 3-1) are also in the upper half of the conference. All five of those teams would be in the Division I, Region 4 playoffs if they started today.
The Indians have beaten Sycamore the last four times they’ve met, and Aviators coach Scott Dattilo is expecting another difficult challenge.
“They’re big and athletic and talented. That’s a good combination,” Dattilo said. “It’s going to take our best game to win. We’ve got to play smart and mistake-free, which has been a challenge for us. We’ve got talented kids, but we only have nine seniors. We’ve got a lot of kids out there that are learning how to play varsity football.”
Junior running back Jordan McConnell is a dual threat for Sycamore. He’s got 298 yards and five touchdowns on 54 carries while catching 17 balls for 271 yards and two scores.
Senior Brian Doneghy (95 carries, 378 yards, five TDs) is the leading rusher, and junior Drew Altemuehle (47-of-93, 570 yards, four TDs) runs the show at quarterback.
“Athletically, especially on offense, they’ve had some of the best athletes in our league the last three, four, five years,” Krause said. “They’ve got very good team speed. Their track program has been very good, and all these football guys are also track guys.”
The Aviators run a unique offense that’s a cross between the spread and the Wing-T. McConnell had 278 all-purpose yards and four TDs in last week’s 31-24 win over Middletown.
“We’ve had chances to put teams away, which senior-laden teams do, and we haven’t done it,” Dattilo said. “We’re still waiting for that night where it all just kind of pieces itself together. We’ve struggled giving up some big plays here and there, but for the most part, we’ve exceeded my expectations defensively.”
Senior linebacker Ryan Draughn, senior end Eddie Son, junior outside linebacker Apollo Ford and sophomore lineman Qai Williams were mentioned by Dattilo as defensive leaders.
Fairfield is ranked No. 1 in the GMC in total yards (424) and points (35.3) per game.
“When you have a top-notch running back like that, you’re instantly a good offense,” said Dattilo, noting conference rushing leader JuTahn McClain (126 carries, 946 yards). “In addition to him, the quarterback is playing well, you’ve got a D-I tight end, you’ve got a D-I tackle, and you’ve got other good football players. Those are the headliners, but it’s not like the other kids are chumps.”
McClain, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior, has totaled 21 touchdowns on runs, receptions and returns. Barring injury, he will certainly become Fairfield’s first 1,000-yard back since Antoine Moore put up 1,517 yards in 2005.
“He carried the ball 27 times last week (against Princeton) and had no problem with that, so I’m not worried about how durable or tough he is,” Krause said. “Probably adding more weight is the next step for him. I think our offseason goal will be to get him over the 190 mark.”
Senior quarterback Jeff Tyus is healthy and looking strong for the Indians. He’s completed 54-of-75 passes for 776 yards and seven TDs with one interception.
“If we play assignment football and get multiple hats on McClain and make Tyus feel a little uncomfortable, we’ll have a chance,” Dattilo said. “But if they have their way and do what they want to do, they’re very good doing it.”
Dattilo was the head coach at Fairfield from 2003-05. He recently moved out of the district, but still has a senior daughter at Fairfield.
“The only personal connection I have at Fairfield is the friends that I’ve made and the fact that my daughter is still there,” Dattilo said. “But as far as the going back and coaching at my old school thing, that’s long gone. I’ve been at Sycamore a long time now.”
Friday’s game
What: Sycamore (4-2, 2-2 GMC) at Fairfield (5-1, 4-0 GMC), 7 p.m.
Where: Fairfield Stadium, State Route 4 and Stadium Drive, Fairfield
Series: Fairfield leads 17-10-1 and has won the last four meetings, including 21-7 in 2017
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