Fallbrook Warriors thrash the Clairemont Chieftains, 42-14

On September 3, the long awaited football season kicked off with a blowout win for the Fallbrook varsity football team at home. The Clairemont Chieftains had no answer to the multiple weapons employed by Fallbrook’s third year head coach, Joe Silvey. The Warriors cruised on to victory, 42-14.

The Warriors won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball to start the game. Two snaps later, Guy Roman darted his way past the diving Chieftains for a loud 73-yard touchdown run.

Later in the first quarter, the second year junior quarterback, Christopher Fuetterer, hit running back Vinnie Cordova for a 33-yard gain taking the Warriors down to Clairemont’s 11-yard line. Roman proved the opening drive was not a fluke as he swept untouched into the end zone for his second touchdown. Following a two-point conversion, Fallbrook led 15-0. After a crucial defensive stop on a fourth-and-short situation, the Warriors tacked on a field goal extending their lead to 18-0 in the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, the Chieftains finally responded with a touchdown of their own. However, joy for Clairemont fans was ephemeral as Fallbrook’s Fuetterer led the offense down to the Chieftains’ two-yard line before handing the ball off to sophomore running back Tyrone Dixon for a touchdown with a minute-and-a-half remaining in the second period.

The Warriors quickly regained possession of the ball after forcing Clairemont to punt. Fuetterer once again showed veteran poise in the pocket as he orchestrated another impressive drive to the Chieftains’ two-yard line. He then proceeded to toss a fade pass to receiver Miles Hamblen for a touchdown with eleven seconds remaining. Fallbrook had a commanding lead of 32-7 as the first half came to an end.

In the third quarter, Guy Roman put on another display of his speed and elusiveness as he broke tackles and crumbled hopeless defenders for a 48-yard gain. This set up Dixon’s second touchdown run. The Warriors led 39-7 at the end of the quarter.

In the fourth period, Fallbrook capped a drive set up by Dixon’s interception in the final minutes of the third quarter with a field goal. The hapless Chieftains scored once more before the final whistle blew. The Fallbrook varsity team completed the sweep as both the freshmen and JV teams also claimed victories.

The Warriors showed a balanced offense producing 221 yards through the air and 184 yards on the ground. Fuetterer completed 14 of his 20 pass attempts and gained 214 yards although he sat most of the second half. Guy Roman was the other star of Fallbrook’s offense as he gained 257 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Fallbrook’s defense also demonstrated much potential as they held Clairemont to just 178 yards of total offense. As much as Dixon was a force at the goal line on offense, he was just as effective on the other end of the ball as he recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass.

“Silvey pushed us hard. We sweated a lot, and we worked hard for this first game,” said an elated Fuetterer.

Coach Silvey provided a promising start to his third year as the Warrior’s head coach. In each of his past two seasons, he led his team to the second round of the CIF Playoffs.

“In the last two years, we’ve kind of built and had some success late. It’s been frustrating early and it’s taken us a while to come together. So it was really important to us coming into the season to get off to a good start and we’re pleased with their enthusiasm,” said Silvey.

Fallbrook’s next game will be at Rancho Bernardo on September 17th, a rematch of the first round of last year’s CIF Playoffs, in which Fallbrook upset the Broncos, 7-6.

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