Fairman’s fast start fuels Thomas Jefferson football

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 15, 2017 | 11:00 PM

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Garret Fairman quickly has displayed he is a home-run threat on the Thomas Jefferson football team.

In the Jaguars’ first two games, Fairman, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior wide receiver/defensive back, led the team in receiving with seven catches for 203 yards and four touchdowns.

He averaged 29 yards per reception, which included 47- and 50-yard scoring plays in a 35-0 Week 2 win against Trinity. He also intercepted a pass and had two tackles.

“Our team hasn’t even come close to playing to our fullest potential yet,” Fairman said. “We need to get a lot better. In my eyes I didn’t even have that good of a game (against Trinity). There were a lot of mental mistakes by myself.”

Fairman, 17, is a second-year starter on the TJ football team. Along with playing both offense and defense, Fairman returns punts and is the holder for extra points.

He also has been a starter/letterman in basketball and baseball since his sophomore year.

“First off, he is an awesome kid. He has a great personality, and always has a smile on his face,” TJ football coach Bill Cherpak said. “He is one of our team leaders that we expect to make plays. He is an excellent three-sport athlete; he is also very intelligent with a 4.0 GPA.”

TJ basketball coach Dom DeCicco said Fairman is a passionate competitor and a hard worker.

“Garret is a high-energy guy,” DeCicco said. “He plays with a lot of passion, no matter what sport he plays. He loves to compete and win.

“He is our defensive catalyst on our basketball team. He is an extremely hard worker. It’s always hard for kids when they are thrust in a leadership role, but he had a great spring and summer for us. My expectations (during the 2017-18 basketball season) are simple for him — outwork everyone he plays against and play smart.”

Fairman, who is a captain on the football team, averaged 38 yards per catch on his first four touchdown receptions this season. He also averaged close to 20 yards per return on his punt returns.

“Garret is big, can run and has excellent instincts,” Cherpak said. “He does so many things well on the field in all three phases of the game. He catches the ball well on offense and is tough to bring down. As our safety, he calls all of the defensive signals and adjustments. On special teams, he is our returner and holder for extra points and field goals. He pretty much does everything for us.”

Fairman started at outside linebacker on defense last year, but has switched to safety this season.

“I like playing the safety position, but honestly linebacker was more fun because I would usually be in the box hitting someone every play,” Fairman said. “As a freshman I was originally a safety, but then last year I got moved to outside linebacker, and that fit me well.”

Fairman and Dan Deabner, a sophomore safety, are flanked in the Jaguars’ secondary by senior cornerbacks Nick Urbanowicz and Jared Collington. Fairman and Urbanowicz are both tall and athletic, giving sophomore quarterback Shane Stump a pair of “go-to” receivers on offense.

Stump has enjoyed early success in his first year as the Jaguars’ starting signal caller. He connected on 16 of 31 pass attempts for 311 yards and six touchdowns, with no interceptions.

“Shane is doing well,” Fairman said. “He is a stud, and has a cannon as an arm.”

Thomas Jefferson has won two consecutive WPIAL football championships, giving the Jaguars seven titles in school history. TJ also has won three PIAA championships.

Fairman ranked among the team leaders defensively last season with 57 total tackles, three interceptions, three sacks, three hurries and one fumble recovery.

“It means hard work and family,” he said. “We all work hard and love each other on this team. We are just as close to each other as we are to our actual family. It is our brotherhood.

“I have been playing football ever since I was 7. I went to every single TJ football game when I was little, too. ”

In the classroom, Fairman’s favorite subject is math; he is taking a calculus class this year.

“My favorite subject in school is 100 percent math,” Fairman said. “I have loved math ever since I was very little. My favorite math teacher is definitely Mrs. (Melissa) Sosanko. She is the funniest person on this earth; she is hilarious.”

Fairman is a member of the National Honor Society and the Big Jag Little Club.

“We write letters back and forth to elementary school kids (in the Big Jag Little Cub Club), then we run some events for them,” he said.

Fairman’s explosive start to the high school football season is no surprise, as athletic prowess runs in the Fairman family.

His older brother and sister, Eric, 21, and Alysa, 18, also were standout athletes in multiple sports at TJ.

Eric now is a junior outfielder on the Cal (Pa.) baseball team, while Alysa, 18, is a freshman pitcher on the Carlow softball team.

Fairman’s younger brother Hunter, 14, is a freshman at TJ who competes in golf and ice hockey. His younger sister, Graci, 13, is an eighth-grader at Pleasant Hills Middle School who plays volleyball, basketball and softball.

“My little sister, I believe, is the most athletic in the family,” Fairman said, “other than me.”

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Thomas Jefferson