11/27/2009 11:39:00 PM THE PAPER'S 2009 FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Fairley carries CHS nior running back's leadership earns him The Paper's 2009 Football Player of the Year
The Paper photo illustration by Lori Poteet
Crawfordsville senior running back Craig Fairley has been named The Paper’s 2009 Football Player of the Year.
THE FAIRLEY FILE
Name: Craig Fairley
High school: Crawfordsville
Age: 17
Year: Senior
Sport: Football
Position: Running back
Uniform No.: 31
Accomplishments: Named The Paper's 2009 Player of the Year, second time he's received the honor (2007) . . . Finished as Crawfordsville's career rushing leader (5,080 yards) and holds the school's single-game rushing record (312 yards against Beech Grove in 2007) . . . Rushed for 1,672 yards on 291 attempts and scored 24 touchdowns (all county highs) this season to lead the Athenians to a 1-9 record . . . Recorded 91 tackles (63 solo, 28 assisted) at the safety/linebacker position, finishing with the second-highest team and 10th-highest county total . . . Three-time All-Sagamore Athletic Conference First Team selection (2007-09)
Other sports: Wrestling and track and field
Parents' names: College and Craig Fairley
Siblings: 5 brothers - Michael (13), Cristian (13), Royce (9), Caleb (9) and Evan (7)
Favorite athlete: Walter Payton
"I like the way he runs, how he ran hard and his never-quit attitude. He never liked to go out of bounds and I never like to go out of bounds unless I have to. He played hard. And I play hard. He liked to it. And I like to hit, too."
Career plans: He plans to major in Psychology.
College plans: He's looking at four major schools - St. Anslem (NCAA Division II in New Hampshire), Eastern Kentucky University, University of Toledo and The University of Akron.
Favorite high school football moment: Hearing Coach Lowe in the IHSAA first-round playoff game against Class 3A No. 1 Bishop Chatard
Hobbies: Reading, playing video games, hanging with friends and playing sports
No matter how many defenders opposing teams lined up in the box, Craig Fairley was going to evade them.
They'd load seven, eight and sometimes even nine defenders up front.
But Crawfordsville High School's senior running still found a way to slip through.
He was going to carry the Athenians, with his legs and his never-get-down attitude.
Fairley still led the county in rushing yards, attempts and touchdowns, while playing defense full time for this first time in his career.
The Paper's 2009 Football Player of the Year made a Herculean effort to keep the Athenians in games this year.
"I'd say it was [because of] the line. It was a pride factor, as well," said Fairley, who earned the honor for the second time in his career (2007). "[Defenses] are telling me they have to stack more than seven guys in the box to stop me. If I see nine guys in the box, it builds my confidence so much. I may start out with small gains. But then I figured out what defenses were doing, what they were trying to take away from me and would go from there."
This season, Fairley turned into a dual threat.
With opponents gunning for him on offense, Fairley still totaled for 1,672 yards on 291 rushing attempts and scored 24 touchdowns - all county highs.
Defensively, Fairley ranked second on the team and 10th in the county with 91 tackles (63 solo, 28 assisted). The safety/linebacker trailed only senior defensive lineman Dylan McBride (95 tackles) for the team lead.
Despite Crawfordsville's disappointing 1-9 record in coach Sean Gerold's first year, Fairley didn't let his coach down.
Gerold gave him a chance to play both ways, and Fairley took full advantage of it.
"Craig, he's an athlete. We knew what he could do on offense. We had a feeling of what he could do on defense. He just wanted to play," Gerold said. "Athletes, they fly to the ball. They get there. He played at the linebacker position some and at the safety position more. And he just flew to the ball."
Crawfordsville lost its first seven games to start this season. But when the Athenians went back to their strength - running the football - they came up with their lone Sagamore Athletic Conference and county win.
Fairley rushed for 199 yards on 45 carries and scored two touchdowns in Crawfordsville's 27-14 Oct. 9 victory over county- and conference rival North Montgomery. It marked Gerold's first win, kept the Chargers from winning the county and conference title and gave the Athenians renewed life.
Crawfordsville lost its final two games, including a 38-21 first-round Indiana High School Athletic Association sectional loss to Class 3A No. 1 Bishop Chatard.
But Gerold remained impressed and thankful for Fairley's positive approach. He said that's what kept the team up the entire year.
"His influence on the team was great. Everybody on the team looked up to Craig. Obviously stat-wise, he was our big guy coming back," Gerold said. "He had a very calming influence. When things were getting down he never got negative. I've been a part of teams when the record goes sour who tended to get negative attitudes. It goes back to attitude, his and the rest of the senior class, their positive attitude, just wanting to get better . . . I never heard him get negative at all, ever. I think that's what stands out the most."
Fairley finished his career as Crawfordsville's all-time leading rusher (5,080 yards) and rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of his final three seasons. His 192-yard effort against conference rival Lebanon gave him the school record, breaking 2007 graduate Daniel Keeling's mark of 4,506 yards.
Since Crawfordsville had a sophomore quarterback in his first year of varsity football, opposing teams stacked their defenses against the run this year.
But Fairley still managed to put up numbers like he did in 2008 (1,577 yards, 18 TDs) and 2007 (1,825 yards, 33 TD's).
"That's right in line what he's done the last two to three years. We knew we'd have to lean on him, and he accepted that challenge," Gerold said. "He knew defenses were coming at him. He accepted it and we kept working."
Although football season is over, Fairley has more work to do - figuring out where he'll play at in college.
Besides wrestling this winter, Fairley has stayed busy visiting colleges and thinking about where to play football. He's narrowed his list to four schools - including NCAA Division II St. Anslem (in New Hampshire) and NCAA Division I schools Eastern Kentucky University, The University of Toledo and The University of Akron.
Fairley admits he still needs to improve his strength and speed before next year.
As long as he can play at a high level, he'll be just fine.
"Football was a way to get away from a lot of drama at school or if I had a bad day," Fairley said. "I know I could come to football and just relax."
The Paper of Montgomery County 101 W. Main St. Suite 300 | P.O. Box 272 Crawfordsville, IN 47933 Main: (765) 361-0100 • Classifieds: (765) 361-8888 • Fax: (765) 361-1882
