By Christian Davis
C & G Sports Writer

It hasn’t happened since 1977, so it’s understandable that when Farmington High’s football team defeated Farmington Hill Harrison, coach John Bechtel called it, “incredibly satisfying.”

The Falcons accomplished the feat with the 20-19 victory — the same score as in 1977 — Oct. 3 at home.

This time around, it was sophomore quarterback Matt Craven connecting with junior Brian Evola on a 30-yard touchdown with 47 seconds left to tie the game. Junior Marco Iaderosa’s extra point put the Falcons ahead for good.

“(Harrison is) the benchmark, the program everyone in the area, in the state, wants to emulate,” Bechtel said. “Anytime you can beat them, even if it’s by one point, it maybe says your program is getting to where you want it to be. Again, its one game, but we’ll take it.

“We were proud our kids played with them snap for snap the whole game.”

The win put the Falcons at 3-3 overall and still in control of their playoff destiny; the Hawks fell to 4-2 overall.

The victory over Harrison marked Farmington’s third straight win. Since losing to Rochester Adams 63-0 in the third week, Bechtel said he’s seen his young team, which has eight starting sophomores, continue to mature on both sides of the ball.

“We didn’t feel like we were all that bad of a football team. I told the kids after (Adams), ‘Our second half of the season starts tonight,’” Bechtel remembered.

Since then, the Falcons haven’t let up over 40 yards rushing in a single contest.

“Frankly, the last three weeks we’ve been really physical up front,” Bechtel said. “Our senior leadership has been great; our offensive line has done a nice job; and the defensive front has been stellar.”

Bechtel added that he’s extremely pleased that his seniors finally got a win over Harrison.

 “No doubt, coming off the 1-8 season, they worked hard to be successful,” he said. “All that hard work is paying off.”

You can reach Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1062.