The 2013 Falcon football season started with a bang last Friday, Aug. 30, as the local squad went on to claim a big win over the Coronado Dons, 42-13.

According to head coach Jim Fairfield, the Falcons played a solid game on both sides of the ball.

“There were a few areas that we need to refine and tweak, but we’re going into this week’s game against Florence strong,” Fairfield added.

“The team is excited about this season and we’re anxious to get another win.”

The Falcons will welcome the Gophers for the first home game of the season on Friday night, Sept. 6, with a kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

As for their recent match-up versus the Dons, however, the local squad actually began the game behind. The Falcons managed to stuff Coronado’s opening drive but, following an early fumble, the Dons took over from deep within Falcon territory, eventually opening the game with a touchdown and PAT to go up 7-0.

“My job then was to settle everybody down and get them to play our football game,” Fairfield said.

“We talk a lot about sudden changes and how they can go either way. We knew we just needed to get the momentum back in our favor.”

The first quarter came to an end with the Dons set to punt for a second time and, shortly after the start of the second quarter, Jordan Atienza was on the receiving end of a touchdown pass for the Falcons.

The first of many straight and true kicks from Brady Hartman would equalize, making the game 7-7 with eight minutes left on the clock.

Going after that momentum Fairfield was just talking about, the Falcons went for an on-side kick next, successfully forcing the Dons to fumble the ball as Nick Smout jumped on the ball to recover.

Another big drive later and the boys were set for touchdown number two, a quick pass to Sam Stoor coupled with another point after from Hartman.

The Falcons’ defense kept the heat turned up, forcing yet another Don punt and beginning a third big drive from the Falcons.

Atienza eventually brought down a long pass, trotting into the end zone to earn another TD. The Falcons went up 21-7 before the final eight seconds ticked off the clock and brought the first half to a close.

“Our players put in a lot of work during the off season,” Fairfield said.

“We have a couple of quarterbacks who can throw the ball and a bunch of guys who can catch. We knew we’d be throwing more and it was proving effective.”

The second half began with the Falcons and the Dons trading yardage for the first several minutes of play before the Fountain Hills squad broke away once again, going up 28-7 with about five minutes left in the third quarter.

Forcing another punt from the Dons, the Falcons took over on their own 38, continuing their drive into the fourth quarter, where they’d find yet another big TD to go up 35-7.

The Dons weren’t ready to play dead just yet, however, coming alive with a 50-yard run and eventually pushing through to earn some points of their own, bringing the game to 35-13 with only eight minutes left in regulation.

The Dons tried for an on-side kick of their own and failed, giving the Falcons the ball on the 50. The local boys marched forward, keeping the ball on the ground to hurry the clock on towards the inevitable.

Helped along by a few encroachment penalties on the part of the Dons, however, the Falcons ran out of field before the clock ran out of time, finishing with a final touchdown to end the game at 42-13.

Quarterback Luke McDermott went 10 for 20 on the evening for 149 yards. The Falcons had five receivers on the night with Atienza eating up 113 yards on six snags. Atienza brought home three touchdowns with Sam Stoor and Hank Alsopp earning one apiece.

Fairfield was proud to point out that the depth of the Falcons’ roster was on display throughout the evening with a whopping eight rushers carrying the ball for another 139 yards.

Nick Maltabano carried 10 for 46 yards while Trace Langer brought in the only rushing touchdown on the evening.