Sesser falls to Fairfield, 18-6

FAIRFIELD - The season came down to one game for the Black Diamond Conference championship Friday as Sesser-Valier/Waltonville/Woodlawn hit the road to Fairfield to take on the Mules at the Train Yard.
Both teams were a perfect 8-0 going into the game. On this night, it would be the host Mules who would prevail in a defensive battle, 18-6.
Fairfield's Lance Jolly broke a scoreless tie with a 7-yard TD run at the 6:01 mark of the second period. The extra point failed, leaving the score 6-0.
The Red Devils would answer with a more than four-minute drive with quarterback Clayton Smith going in from one yard out to tie the game at six. With about a minute to play in the first half, Mules quarterback Alex Pruitt found a wide open receiver on a third and long moving the ball to the Red Devil 15-yard line with less than 30 seconds to play.
Fairfield went on to score a few seconds later to take a 12-6 lead.
A personal foul against the Mules on ensuing the kickoff gave Sesser-Valier a free play with Smith throwing into the end zone looking for Lukas Gunter, but the pass was intercepted ending the first half.
The Mules started the second half with an eight-minute drive as Jolly scored his second touchdown of the night on a one-yard run giving Fairfield an 18-6 lead. The Red Devils would convert on a fourth and 10 inside the Mules' 35, but the Fairfield defense stiffened and prevented the visitors from scoring.
The Mules, whose last unbeaten regular season was 60 years ago in 1957, could be the top seed in Class 3A when the playoffs commence next Saturday. The now 8-1 Red Devils could be a top four seed in the same class. Like Fairfield, Sesser-Valier will host its first-round game.