The Mule Boss

This Friday, the Mules football team will travel to Edwards County to take on the Lions in a very important game for both teams. Edwards County is making a run to get into the playoffs. The Mules are seeking to continue a juggernaut that stretches back over a couple of seasons where they not only win….they win big.

During my last tour here in Fairfield, in the early 2000s, this was the one game of the year that both teams looked forward to….because the rest of the schedule looked bleak. Other schools were bigger and better.

My hat is off to Lions’ head coach Joe Rivers who has seemingly turned that program’s fortunes around. But this commentary is not about him. It is about Fairfield Coach, Justin Townsend.

He has built a very impressive program. Fairfield has numbers when other schools don’t. The Mules are brutal on opposing defenses by playing ram-it-down-your-throat power football. A kicking game? Who needs an extra point when you can run it in for two?

Since taking over the program, Townsend has improved every aspect of it to the point the Mules are the brutes of the Black Diamond conference. Since opening kickoff last year, no one has been able to slow them down, which the exception of playoff action.  Most weeks they are like a speeding Norfolk Southern slamming into a Volkswagen.

The numbers don’t lie. The Mules are 22-3 over the last three years. If the Mules win out, Townsend will notch his 100^th career win.

When teams lose, coaches are fired. When they win, the good coaches talk about their kids. That’s Townsend.

But let me tell you. This is all about Justin Townsend. He is the reason why the Fairfield Mules are recognized as one of the best football programs in Southern Illinois.