WHS football shut out 34-0 by Fairmont in season opener

WORTHINGTON — The Worthington High School football team faced a tough challenge in its 34-0 season-opening loss to Fairmont last Friday. Now, the Trojans (0-1) look ahead to another potential test against a solid St. Peter Saints team on the road this Friday. ADVERTISEMENT St. Peter is coming off a 7-2 record last year in which one of those wins was a 50-6 drubbing of Worthington in week two. The Saints' two losses last year were a 7-6 defeat to eventual Class AAA runner-up Waseca in their season opener and a 43-8 loss in the Section 2AAAA playoffs to Hutchinson. The Saints opened this campaign with a 41-24 loss to Waseca on the road. Now the Trojans come to town for their home opener this Friday after facing a Fairmont team that shut them out 47-0 in last year's season opener. Worthington wide receiver Austin Gruis catches a pass against Fairmont on Friday, Sep. 4, 2026 at Trojan Field in Worthington. Skyler Jackson / The Globe WHS held up well defensively early last week, trailing only 7-0 after the first quarter. But the Cardinals started to pull away with three touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 28-0 halftime lead. They added one more score in the third quarter and maintained a shutout effort. The Trojans struggled offensively and they were also plagued by injury in the game. The most notable was to senior starting quarterback Isaiah Schroeder early in the second quarter. An experienced QB in his third year as a varsity starter, Schroeder and the Trojan offense was moving the ball well on its second possession down 7-0 midway through the first quarter. The drive stalled near midfield when Schroeder was sacked on a third down. The Trojan defense got a numerous big fourth down stops and forced three turnovers, but the offense couldn't capitalize. ADVERTISEMENT After Logan Kerkaert picked off a pass from Fairmont quarterback Jensen Livesay, Schroeder threw an interception on the next play. During the return, Schroeder went down with what appeared to be a shoulder injury and did not return. Sophomore Keagan McCuen took over at QB and played the rest of the game. Worthington running back Miguel Moreno stiff-arms a Fairmont defender on Friday, Sep. 4, 2026 at Trojan Field in Worthington. Skyler Jackson / The Globe The interception set up the Cardinals at the WHS 1-yard line, where Keyon Schutz immediately punched it in the end zone for a 14-0 lead. Fairmont quickly scored again on its next drive when Brayden Williamson caught a 68-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0 at the 2:55 mark. Worthington's defense forced another turnover when Hudson Scheepstra made a leaping interception of a Livesay pass and returned it to the Trojan 40-yard line. But the ensuing Trojan drive stalled and the Cardinals took over again right before halftime. Mason Bicknase then capped off a five-play drive with a 9-yard score with just 38 seconds left in the half to cap off a big second quarter that allowed the Cardinals to pull away. The Trojan defense continued with its solid play in the third quarter with its third turnover of the game. Kason Spartz forced a fumble that was recovered by Austin Gruis near midfield. But WHS would again give the ball right back to Fairmont when Miguel Moreno fumbled a hand-off at the Trojan 44-yard line. Worthington defensive lineman Jaxson Spartz tackles Fairmont quarterback Jensen Livesay on Friday, Sep. 4, 2026 at Trojan Field in Worthington. Skyler Jackson / The Globe Another defensive fourth down stop followed, but McCuen dropped a snap on the next play and the Cardinals were set up at the 5-yard line. Schutz scored his second touchdown two plays later and a missed extra point made it a 34-0 game with 6:44 left in the third quarter. ADVERTISEMENT The Trojans' best chance to score came midway through the fourth quarter. They drove into the red zone for the first time thanks to some solid, physical running from sophomore Kian Ling and a 25-yard pass down field from McCuen to Ethan Anderson. But the Fairmont defense forced three-straight sacks, including on fourth down to stop the drive with 8:15 left. McCuen completed two passes for 29 yards and both he and Schroeder threw two interceptions apiece. Ling finished with 18 yards on the ground as the Trojans totaled only 65 yards of offense. Worthington defensive back Hudson Scheepstra intercepts a pass against Fairmont on Friday, Sep. 4, 2026 at Trojan Field in Worthington. Skyler Jackson / The Globe On defense, Scheepstra, Spartz, Kerkaert and Wilson Mahlberg each finished with a team-leading five tackles with Spartz also getting a sack and two tackles for loss. The defense totaled three sacks and seven tackles for loss. The Cardinals finished with 266 yards, including 187 through the air. Livesay completed 11 passes and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Williamson caught four passes for 125 yards and Schutz ran for 68 yards on 12 carries. This Friday's game in St. Peter is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. After that, the Trojans will play on the road two more weeks at Austin (Sep. 18) and Albert Lea (Sep. 25) before returning to Trojan Field for homecoming against New Ulm on Oct. 2. WORTHINGTON TROJANS