Vanden blasts Fairfield in season finale

Vanden's Ren Littlepage, center, finds a hole through Fairfield defenders during the two teams matchup Friday night at Vanden. (Daily Republic-Adam Smith)

FAIRFIELD — Vanden High dominated Fairfield High Friday night in the two schools’ first meeting in more than four decades, topping the Falcons 56-6.

It marked the end of difficult seasons for both schools, neither of which qualifies for the playoffs out of the Solano County Athletic Conference. Vanden ended the year with a 4-6 record overall and a 3-2 mark in the SCAC; Fairfield finished at 1-8, 0-5.

Vanden’s Ren Littlepage rushed for 206 yards and two touchdowns Friday, putting him at 1,005 yards on the year. He’s the first Vikings player to rush for more than 1,000 yards since Damon Treat hit 1,003 in 2009.

Littlepage and the Vikings did not take long to pull out to a lead Friday at George A. Gammon Field.

After Littlepage moved the ball 38 yards across midfield on the game’s first play, Jadon Brisendine hit an untouched Matthew Walker in the front of the end zone for the first of his two touchdown receptions on the night.

After a four-and-out by Fairfield and a block which negated a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown by Vanden’s Christian Basden, Littlepage reached pay dirt for the first of his two TDs. The junior running back sprinted 37 yards down his own sideline to give the Vikings a 13-0 edge with 10 minutes, 9 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Littlepage’s other touchdown came in the second quarter, rolling to the left side of the line for a 17-yard touchdown.

“We wanted to get Ren to 1,000 yards,” Vanden coach LeVon Haynes said. “Our (offensive) line worked hard all year and Ren worked extremely hard all year.”

The first half was frustrating for the Falcons, who rotated between Michael Arredondo and Robert Posey at quarterback throughout the game. At halftime, the pair were a combined 2 for 14 passing for 12 yards.

It was indicative of a difficult year for the Falcons, who had to overcome injuries and a small depth chart in 2012.

“We had to battle every game,” Fairfield associated head coach Adam Butler said.

Posey proved explosive for Fairfield on kick returns, including opening the second half with an 85-yard dash down his own sideline, eluding several Vikings defenders in the process. It was the Falcons only score of the night. Posey also had an 80-yard kickoff return to start Fairfield’s next possession.

Fairfield reached the red zone on two possessions. In the first quarter, a rush from 3 yards out ended one goal-line stand. In the fourth, on 4th-and-goal from the 15, Posey hit Tyler Ross for an 11-yard reception, turning the ball over on downs.

Vanden, too, squandered a chance in the red zone in the first quarter, when Fairfield’s Mark Tupai pounced on a fumble at the 1-yard line to quell a Vanden drive.

The ensuing drive set up Vanden’s third touchdown of the game, when the Vikings’ Elijah Williams scooped up a loose ball on a Falcons fumble and ran 29 yards for a score, moving the tally to 20-0 in Vanden’s favor.

Vanden pushed its lead to 26-0 on Walker’s second tally of the night, catching a Brisendine pass, making his way past defenders and sprinting for the goal line. Brisendine finished with 95 yards and two TD passes to Walker, whose two catches on the night both went for scores.

After Littlepage’s second TD, the final score of the first half came when Vanden’s Cedric Taylor broke through the left side for a 5-yard touchdown.

In the second half, with a running clock, Vanden chewed up most of the third quarter with an eight-play, 85-yard drive which ended when Brisendine plowed in for a 5-yard score to push the lead to 49-6.

With just more than a minute left to play, Taylor earned his second TD of the night on a 42-yard touchdown run.

The 50-point difference was the sixth-largest margin of victory in Vanden history.

Nick DeCicco

Nick DeCicco is the editor of the Tailwind and writes the pop culture blog/column For Those About to Rock. Before joining the DR staff in July 2007, DeCicco (pronounced Deh-CEE-Coh) worked at The Union in Grass Valley, Calif., and the Greeley Tribune in Greeley, Colo. A 2004 graduate of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, DeCicco spends his free time attending concerts, listening to music, going to movies, traveling and hiking.

View all my stories Email Me