Fairfield's 24-7 victory over Winton Woods Friday night was similar to the Indians' season — stirring moments mixed with troubling mistakes, but ultimately, a happy ending.

        The victory should give Fairfield (7-3) its second straight trip to the playoffs. On Sunday, the Indians will be notified officially if they are in and if so, whom they will face in the first round.

        “Our team knew if we lost tonight, we weren't going to the playoffs,” said star running back Earl Haynes, who gained 106 of his 157 rushing yards in the second half.

        Fairfield helped Winton Woods stay in the game by turning over the ball three times, including a fumble by Haynes at the Warriors' 1-yard line late in the third quarter when a touchdown would have put away the game.

        But Fairfield's defense gave up only 157 yards and never allowed a big play — Winton Woods' longest play was 17 yards.

        Two drives told the story of the game.

        The first came with less than two minutes left in the first half. Winton Woods had just tied the score at 7-7 on Andrew Johnson's 3-yard TD run.

        Rather than playing conservatively, Fairfield put the ball in the air. Quarterback Brett Pogozalski completed three straight passes, covering 67 yards, then capped the drive four plays later with a quarterback sneak for a touchdown with 28 seconds left in the half, giving Fairfield a 14-7 halftime lead.

        “That was a big factor in the game,” Winton Woods coach Troy Everhart said. “Championship teams do that, answer scores with a score.”

        “(Pogozalski's) done that for us all year,” Grippa said of his senior quarterback, who completed 9 of 15 passes for 185 yards and a TD Friday. “He's not the prettiest looking quarterback out there, but he's a winner.”

        The second key possession came when Winton Woods forced a Fairfield punt from the Indians' 1-yard line on the first drive of the second half, giving the Warriors the ball for the first time since their first-half TD and putting it only 33 yards from the Fairfield end zone.

        But after losing five yards in three plays, the Warriors were forced to punt.

        Fairfield next produced a long drive that ended with a 36-yard field goal from Jason Brown that pushed the lead to 17-7.

        Haynes became the workhorse in protecting the lead in the second half, running 21 times. He is just 20 yards short of a third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season.

        After the game, Fairfield's players were already speculating on which team they would like to face.

        But Grippa's just glad to be headed back to the playoffs.

        “I told my coaches this is a program kind of win. The kids in the district know (Fairfield's success) is the real thing, and that's a big thing for us in trying to build the program.”

        Fairfield ....... 7 7 3 7-24

        Winton Woods ....... 0 7 0 0-7

        F—Brown 14 pass from Pogozalski (Brown kick)

        W—Johnson 3 run (McCoy kick)

        F—Pogozalski 1 run (Brown kick)

        F—Brown 36 FG

        F—Haynes 1 run (Brown kick)

        Records: F 7-3, HWW 7-3

        Complete prep football coverage at Enquirer.com/prepfootball

Sports Stories

22 local teams make Ohio football playoffs Cincinnati football scores How top 10s fared Northern Kentucky football scores Ohio football scores Kentucky football scores Indiana football scores Indiana football schedule Friday Night highlights Badin 16, Hamilton 10 Batavia 47, Western Brown 13 Beechwood 14, Newport Central Catholic 0 Bellevue 47, Dayton 7 Boone County 10, Simon Kenton 7 Chaminade-Julienne 29, Kettering Alter 14 CHCA 28, Finneytown 21 Colerain 45, La Salle 21 Covington Catholic 34, Dixie Heights 25 Deer Park 20 North College Hill 0 Edgewood 23, Talawanda 14 Elder 42, Oak Hills 7 Fairfield 24, Winton Woods 7 Glen Este 17, Indian Hill 7 Highlands 32, Conner 3 Holmes 40, Scott 0 Holy Cross 30, Ludlow 7 Kings 16, Turpin 12 Lakota East 41, Hughes 12 Lakota West 56, Harrison 21 Lebanon 11, Mason 7 Little Miami 21, Goshen 14 Lloyd 53, Bath County 0 Loveland 46, Wilmington 6 Madeira 49, Lockland 6 Mariemont 36, Summit Country Day 17 McNicholas 17, Taylor 10 Milford 56, Amelia 21 Moeller 38, Princeton 17 New Miami 30, Troy Christian 18 New Richmond 43, Williamsburg 16 Northwest 20, Roger Bacon 19 Purcell Marian 47, Mt. Healthy 32 Reading 21, CCD 3 Ross 41, Norwood 8 Russell County 55, Newport 14 St. Xavier 40, Anderson 37 Western Hills 35, Walnut Hills 12 Withrow 24, Sycamore 21 Woodward 33, Dayton Jefferson 0 Wyoming 36, Blanchester 34