Justin, Chase both winners

Sports

November 12, 2009

By Greg Keim The Goshen News Thu Nov 12, 2009, 01:42 PM EST

Justin Scott entered the high school football season with high expectations.

A year ago, he tossed 15 touchdown passes in leading the Fairifeld Falcons to a 10-1 season.

Things looked rosy for the Falcons over the first four weeks of the current season as the 6-4 (180) senior quarterback led the team to a 4-0 record.

He passed for 569 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 261 yards and nine TDs as Fairfield outscored its opponents 227-32.

Then in Week 5 against the Eastside Blazers, the unthinkable happened as Scott’s season ended with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee.

“The Eastside safety cut me off and when I went to make a move I felt a pop in my knee,” Scott said.

“No one hit me. I just thought something was twisted, but when the trainer (Erin Clark from Fort Wayne Orthopedics) started working on it, she told me it might be a torn ACL.”

Doctor Jeff Hartsell performed surgery on Scott who started running on a treadmill last week.

“The doctor has a goal for me to be back playing basketball by the first week in January,” Scott said.

The injury thrust 6-2 (180) junior Chase Pinion into the Falcon quarterback limelight.

The youngster has responded by passing for 948 yards and 14 TDs.

He was a shining star in last week’s 28-27 win over Bremen in the sectional championship, tossing a TD pass with 0:05 left in to tie the score after Bremen had returned an interception for the go-ahead score with 1:16 to play.

Pinion moved the Falcon offense 80 yards in the drive, leading to Fairfield’s first-ever sectional championship.

“Leading the drive like he did after throwing an interception should boost his confidence,” Fairfield coach Bob Miller said. “That final drive was a defining moment for him. He saw in himself what the coaches have been seeing all along.”

Pinion completed six passes in the drive to four different receivers.

After the interception, according to Coach Miller, Scott was one of the first players there to meet Pinion as he came off the field.

“I told him to have a short memory,” Scott said. “If you don’t forget about it, you will throw another interception. If you forget about it, you are going to lead this team to victory.”

It’s not the first time Scott has looked for Pinion on the sidelines.

“Every time he comes off the field I try to tell him what I see and help him with formations,” the senior said.

Pinion welcomes the advice.

“I always try to find him (Scott) after drives. He has helped me a lot. It would have been easy for him to walk away after the injury, but he has shown real leadership. I’m thankful he stayed with us.”

Miller agrees.

“Justin is an amazing young man,” he said. “There is no other way to describe him.

“He was upset about the injury, but has never been bitter. He has been a tremendous influence on the team, both in practices and games. He could have had a bad attitude and caused problems, but he didn’t let the injury stop him from being one of the leaders on the team.

“After his surgery we had him up in the press box filming games. He told me he hated it. Since then he has been on the sidelines.”

Pinion hasn’t let last week’s success go to his head.

“This week has been pretty much like all the others,” he said. “Our focus has been on the next game.”

Still he knows the Falcons are entering uncharted territory.

“The feeling this week is like the one you get at the beginning of the season,’ Pinion said. “You want to get out there and play. It goes away during the season, but it is coming back now.

“We just have to keep playing as a team and not make the little mistakes. If we do that, we can come out on top.”

The impact of winning the sectional title hit Coach Miller when he walked into the Fairfield gym.

“I looked up at all the sectional banners and realized they are going to have to put one up there for us,” he said.

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Justin, Chase both winners

The Goshen Housing Authority has a $571,050 shortfall. Should the Goshen City Council use money from its $4.7-million “rainy day” fund to pay the debt and maintain the current level of service provided by the voucher program?

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