Max Fairclough signs with Central Missouri

Kahuku High School graduate Max Fairclough will attend Central Missouri this fall. Fairclough will join other Samoans on the team including John Samia and Vavega Tialino and Video Coordinator Lee Palelei.

Central Missouri gets the ‘Maximum’ from Matadors
Jim Howell
May. 15th, 2007

NJCAA Preseason All-American LB Fairclough signs letter of intent with UCM

Yuma, Arizona – May 15, 2007 -- Arizona Western College is proud to announce that AWC football player Maximum “Max” Fairclough has officially signed his letter of intent to attend the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, and play football for them this fall. The announcement just four days before Fairclough is scheduled to participate in AWC Commencement activities in his final act as an Arizona Western College student-athlete.

Fairclough was one of the most respected student-athletes of the program-on and off the football field. Fairclough made his name as one of the top linebackers in the Western States Football League, but when he arrived on the AWC campus back in August of 2005, he was actually slated as the Matadors’ starting strong safety. But it didn’t take long for AWC Head Football Coach James Pryor and Defensive Coordinator Jerry Dominguez very long to realize that Fairclough’s strengths could be better utilized if he was shifted to a linebacker spot, so Max was moved to that spot starting in the 4^th game of the 2005 season, and stayed there for the remainder of his tenure at AWC. The Laie, Hawaii, native completed his freshman season as one of the team leaders in tackles and recorded one sack.

Fairclough’s contributions endeared himself to not just Matador fans but the national pollsters, who named Fairclough as an NJCAA Honorable Mention Preseason All-American selection last June. Fairclough moved from weak side to strong side linebacker for the 2006 season, and made an immediate impact. Over a 5-week stretch midway through the season, Fairclough averaged a fumble recovery per game. Against Air Force JV on September 16^th, Fairclough was a strong force, registering a pair of sacks while forcing one fumble and recovering another, and recording 13 solo tackles overall. For his efforts, he was named as the WSFL Defensive Player of the Week. He added a pair of fumble recoveries the next week at Mesa, and then against the defending national champions, the Glendale Gauchos, on October 14^th, Fairclough was responsible for the Matadors’ only points of the night when he recovered a blocked punt at the goal line and ran it across the line for a touchdown. On the season, Fairclough finished third on the team in sacks with 4 ½. He also had 5 fumble recoveries, and was once again one of the top tacklers on the squad. Fairclough’s accomplishments were rewarded at the end of the season, when he was named to the All-WSFL 2^nd Team.

Fairclough heads to the Midwest, and an NCAA Division II program that is just four seasons removed from their last Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championship. Central Missouri also has one Mineral Water Bowl victory under its belt in Y2K, having shellacked the University of Minnesota-Duluth, 42-17, in the 2001 event. Last season, the Mules finished with a 5-6 record overall, and in 6^th place in the MIAA with a 3-6 conference mark