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FORT COLLINS — Johnny Feauto knows the gig is temporary, at least for now.
You’d better believe the Fairview sophomore quarterback is going to relish it while he has the chance.
When Knights projected starter Anders Hill suffered an ankle injury in the summer, the job become Feauto’s for the short term. All he did in Fairview’s 42-7 opening win against Poudre is throw for 351 yards and two touchdowns Thursday night at French Field.
“I had a little bit of nerves,” Feauto said. “But after the first series I got them out of me.”
Having a pair of standout receivers didn’t hurt in that regard. Junior Sam Martin hauled in eight receptions for 144 yards, including a 28-yard TD on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Cole Scheifele added five grabs for 106 yards.
“It builds your confidence knowing that when you throw it out there, they’re just going to go up and grab it,” Feauto said.
In fairness, Feauto did throw three interceptions, but one was after a desperation heave from midfield to conclude the first half. The Knights, who got three rushing touchdowns from Cameron Frazier, still went to the locker room with a 21-0 lead.
All in all, it was an ultra-impressive debut by the youthful QB.
“He was great. He’s an athlete, that’s for sure,” Martin said. “He made plays out of nothing. When he was in trouble, he always seemed to get out of it. He wouldn’t run right away, he’d escape, set his feet then make the play.”
The visiting Knights also got a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown from defensive back Tim Ryan in the second quarter, and defensive lineman Connor Spencer was a beast throughout.
It helped the Knights begin the year in the same fashion as last season, when they opened with a 21-3 win against the Impalas.
“The defense was really big, and I thought they played tough all night,” Fairview coach Tom McCartney said. “The pick-six by Tim Ryan, and then the D responded when we put them in some tough field position with our special teams and one of the interceptions.”
The story, though, was the efforts of Feauto. After throwing for 141 yards in the opening half, he was even better in the second. He capped his night with a 14-yard TD strike to running back Matt Kock on a 4th-and-1 play.
“He had a really impressive scrimmage last week, and for him to put those performances back to back is huge for us,” McCartney said. “The guys believe in him, and that’s what you want at that position.”
Follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulWillis21
Fairview 42, Poudre 7
At French Field
Fairview (1-0) 7 14 0 21 — 42
Poudre (0-1) 0 0 7 0 — 7
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Fairview — Cameron Frazier 2 run (Patrick Rios kick).
Second Quarter
Fairview — Frazier 5 run (Rios kick).
Fairview — Tim Ryan 69 interception return (Rios kick).
Third Quarter
Poudre — Justin Moreng 1 run (Braxton Davis kick).
Fourth Quarter
Fairview — Sam Martin 28 pass from Johnny Feauto (Rios kick).
Fairview — Frazier 2 run (Rios kick).
Fairview — Matt Koch 14 pass from Feauto (Rios kick).
FHS PHS
First downs 20 13
Rushes-yards 23-62 45-113
Passing yards 351 139
Comp-Att-Int 21-33-3 11-20-1
Punts-Avg. 3-44.0 5-41.2
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 8-88 8-92
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Fairview: Koch 5-21, Frazier 5-18, Sharr 5-19, Feauto 5-2, Gallo 2-6, Harris 1-(minus 3); Poudre: Moreng 18-69, Flint 10-41, Gish 4-7, Limmer 3-6, Senesac 4-8, Meyer 1-1, Long 1-(minus 3), Jensen 4-(minus 16).
PASSING (comp-att-int-yards) — Fairview: Feauto 21-33-3, 351 yards; Poudre: 4-9-1, 50 yards, Flint 6-8-0, 73 yards, Limmer 1-2-0, 16 yards, Long 0-1-0, 0 yards.
RECEIVING — Fairview: Martin 8-144, Scheifele 5-106, Frazier 3-25, Harris 2-38, Koch 2-16, Sharr 1-22; Poudre: Pinkston 4-60, Long 3-24, Gish 2-32, Sanders 1-16, Moreng 1-7.
