Farmington and its defense shut down No. 7 Windsor in tight victory

Farmington’s Ivan Guadalupe tries to break free in Friday’s win over Windsor.

FARMINGTON – Over the last three seasons, the Farmington High football team has won 22 of 25 games. They went 9-1 in 2011 and 8-2 a year ago. But they were lacking that signature win over a big-time team.

The Indians got it Friday night.

Farmington played stifling defense to beat No. 7 Windsor in an emotional 13-7 decision in a battle between two undefeated teams. The visiting Warriors came into the game averaging 38.4 points, 218 yards rushing and 189 yards passing a game.

The Indians sacked Windsor quarterback Jedidiah Haynes five times. Haynes threw for 151 yards but Windsor, as a team, was only able to rush for six yards. In the second half, Farmington gave up just 16 yards of offense to the Warriors.

“We just had to play hard,” said Farmington defensive lineman Jayson Martin, who recovered a fumble, had two sacks and a tackle for a loss. “We just kept grinding throughout the game.”

Farmington improves to 6-0 for the third straight season against a Windsor team that has earned a berth to the Class L tournament for the past two seasons and went to the Class L finals a year ago.

“This means the world to us,” Farmington back Ivan Guadalupe said. “We could go 1-10 and it would be OK as long the team we beat was Windsor. It’s been so close. We finally eliminated (giving) up the big play.”

Well, that’s not quite accurate. Windsor (5-1, 1-1 CCC Division II West) took a 7-0 when Tynique Woods Culver got behind the Indian defense and scored on a 88-yard bomb from Windsor quarterback Jedidiah Haynes with 5:55 gone in the first period.

Windsor gained 130 yards in the first period. Farmington allowed just 27 yards in the rest of the game.

“Our secondary has been a strength for us this year,” Farmington coach Chris Machol said. “Our defensive line was stout against the run and put pressure on the quarterback. In years past, we’ve let their quarterback scramble around but this year, we didn’t.”

Farmington (6-0, 2-0 CCC Div. II West) struggled in the first half on offense, managing to earn just three first downs. In the second half, they had three first downs on its first drive.

“We had a more balanced approach,” Machol said. “We were more successful on first down.”

Farmington marched 59 yards on 12 plays, eating up nearly six minutes on its initial third quarter drive. Quarterback Jeremy Buck picked up four yards on a key third down and 1 on the Windsor 35 to keep the drive alive and found Kenny Jones for a four-yard gain on fourth down four plays later for another first down.

Buck found Jones for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 6:07 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 7-7.

Farmington QB Jeremy Buck races downfield on a 32-yard run that put the Indians in position to score its second TD.

Windsor didn’t gain a yard on its first possession of the third quarter and after a punt, the Indians took over at midfield. On third down and 1 from the Windsor 41, Buck raced around the right end for a 32-yard gain to the nine-yard line. It was the longest run of the game by either side.

Buck scored on a one-yard run on fourth down and goal with 1:07 left to give Farmington a 13-7 lead. The extra point was blocked.

“We knew we had left some plays on the field in the first half,” Buck said. “We all just had to do our jobs, stay focused and not make any mental mistakes.” Buck completed 10-of-26 passes for 99 yards and two touchdown passes. He also ran for a game-high 91 yards on 17 carries. Guadalupe ran for 51 yards on 15 carries.

Windsor had the ball for two plays before a Farmington defender stripped Windsor’s Jaylen Berry of the ball, which was recovered by Martin.

The Warriors got the ball back with 8:53 left in the game. After making a first down to the Windsor 21-yard line, Colin Gratton tackled Haynes for a six-yard loss. Haynes lost another 10 yards when he recovered a high snap that sailed over his head. They punted two plays later.

Windsor had one last chance when it got the ball with 2:21 remaining after an interception. With the help of two Farmington penalties worth 30 yards, they moved to the Indian 40 yard line with 1:18 remaining. But Jones made a great play to intercept the ball and seal the victory for Farmington.

NOTES: It was the first win for Farmington over Windsor in four games. … Dan Haridman (1-6), Elijah Johnson (1-4) and Jayson Martin (2-17) each had sacks for the Indians. Another 13-yard sack was taken off the board due to a Farmington penalty. … Six times, Farmington held Windsor to no yards on a rushing play. … One of the more unique penalties was Farmington being called for hurdling an opponent. Guadalupe hurdled over a Windsor tackler on a 16-yard run in the first period. But it was called back and the Indians were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. … When is the last time, Farmington beat a top 10 team? Good question. We’ll have to research this.

Farmington 13, Windsor 7
At Farmington
Windsor (5-1)                        7  0    0  0  — 7
Farmington (6-0)                    0  0  14  0  — 14
First quarter
W: Tynique Woods Culver 88 pass from Jedidiah Haynes (Charles Baldwin kick), 5:55
Third quarter
F: Kenny Jones 16 pass from Jeremy Buck (Wyatt Queirolo kick), 6:07
F: Buck 1 run (kick blocked), 1:07
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Windsor – Jedidiah Haynes 8-minus 42, Jordan Knight 1-minus 6, Jaylen Berry 16-34, Evan King 2-20; Farmington – Jeremy Buck 17-91, Kenny Jones 5-13, Ivan Guadalupe 15-51
PASSING: Windsor – Jedidiah Haynes 8-13-1, 151 yards; Farmington – Buck 10-26-1, 99
RECEIVING: Windsor – Courtney Rush 3-34, Tynique Woods-Culver 4-102, Jaylen Berry 1-5; Farmington – Ivan Guadalupe 2-5, Elijah Johnson 1-13, Anthony Carpenter 3-47, Kenny Jones 3-34