Fountain-Fort Carson circled the date on June 6. Friday night, they put a “W” next to the game on the schedule that was circled.

The 5A Trojans (1-2) emerged from a gritty, hard-hitting battle as a 10-7 victor over 4A rival Pine Creek (1-2) in overtime, in front a large crowd in Fountain.

“This is one of the biggest games of our season,” said F-FC wide receiver Djimon O’Neil. “We want to run the south, and this is where it starts.”

After the Trojans got a 29-yard field goal from soccer-player-turned-kicker Collin Meints to take the lead during the first series of overtime, the F-FC defense rose up to seal the win.

The battle cry of “We run the south” rang out from many of the Trojans players, who gave first-year coach Jake Novotny his first victory.

“We started talking about wanting to win this game over the summer,” Novotny said. “We wanted to call out Pine Creek, because they’re the best team in the state south of Monument. We want to run the south. We circled this on June 6, and I’m so proud of these guys.”

Pine Creek quarterback Brock Domann found Peter Isais for a touchdown strike to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.

However, it didn’t take long for the Trojans to answer. Several big passes from Christian Jace and two costly 15-yard penalties on the Pine Creek defense set F-FC up at the 13. Jace would find O’Neil, who made an athletic catch in the end zone to tie things up before the half.

The second half was not for the faint of heart. A litany of penalties and punts resulted in no points being scored for either team.

Pine Creek, trailing 10-7 in overtime, bypassed the field goal try to tie the game, and went for the win. Domann took the snap from the three yard line, escaped from pressure and tossed up a prayer to the back of the end zone.

“I was just thinking that there’s no way I was letting anyone catch it,” F-FC junior cornerback Jason Farrell said. “It’s a great feeling for the defense when we can step up and win a game like that.”

It was an uncharacteristic performance for a Pine Creek offense which usually has its way with opposing defenses. It was part tough defense by the Trojans, and part self-destruction from the Eagles.

“They had a good scheme, but this loss is on me,” said Domann, who threw two interceptions. “We had four downs to get it in the end zone, and we couldn’t do it. That’s my fault.”