GAME DAY: HSE Royals Invade Our Home

Fishers High School, 7pm kickoff

Tigers take on strong conference contender HSE Royals friday night and need to rebound from an opening loss to Noblesville.  Improved positioning is needed on the offensive line for Tigers and Connor Christiansen will look to effectively run the offense, make crisp decisions and passes earlier to open receivers.  Offensive line must win the overall battle in the trenches and permit the Tiger's running back corps to accumulate yards when needed and possibly more.

Defensively, the Tigers will need to shake off the past friday night and be ready to master assignments and not leave open running lanes for the Royal running threats.  Secondary will have to close on intermediate and deep passing threats, particularly the speedy Cameron Polk.

Ball control, field position and turnover battle will determine this important Mudsock matchup for the Tigers.

What is for sure, the emotions will run high, fireworks will fly and the outcome is far from determined.  The Fishers Tigers may have some question marks but they are learning quickly and Coach Wimmer will have a sound game plan against HSE.  It is time for the players to execute the mission and not bend under pressure.  We know the Tigers are up for the task and we look for 100% Tiger Heart on every play!

Relevant HSE quote from week 1 victory over Avon:

“We push our wide receivers deep, and everyone (on the defense) drops, and it opens the middle for me to run,” said Janney, who finished with 63 yards on eight carries and 129 passing yards.

Noblesville 27, Fishers 24

NHS QB T.C. McKiernan threw for 226 yards (17 for 24) and rushed for another 150 yards on 19 carries in the Millers’ upset. Connor Christiansen threw for 252 yards (14 for 28) and two touchdowns and rushed for another 57 yards. Harvey Allen had two rushing touchdowns and J-Shun Harris hauled in seven passes for 144 yards and one touchdown for the Tigers.

Next week:
Tigers vs HSE Royals (HSE 28-7 over Avon in week 1)
Noblesville vs Brownsburg (Brownsburg 49-28 over McCutcheon in week 1)

2013 Fishers Tigers Football Preview

Hoosier Crossroads Conference

Coach:  Rick Wimmer

Pre-Season Rankings - Gridiron Digest #8, IFCA #7

Connor Christiansen

Team Strengths

Return of experience and playmakers on offense.  Coaching.

J-Shun Harris

Team Weaknesses

Heavy loss of experience on defense and need to rebuild O-line.

Top Senior Tigers

• J-Shun Harris            5'9" 160 Senior WR
• Connor Christiansen 6'2" 180 Senior QB
• Drew Broughton       6'2" 265 Senior T
• Alex Sahakian           6’0” 160 Senior K

Drew Broughton

The Tiger offense is geared up for an explosive display.  It will be very difficult for opponents to guess where the ball will be going with ultra-playmaker J-Shun Harris returning the kicks and shaking defenders on pass routes.  Harris committed IU during the summer and excelled in many offseason camps.  Likewise, his signal caller Christiansen has the ability to get the ball to him and is also a threat to get yards on the ground himself.   Christiansen also performed very well in offseason camps and has drawn attention from D-1 programs, particularly in the offense heavy MAC.  Drew Broughton is a Tiger that has held an offer from UMass for quite a while and has garnered extensive interest from D-1 programs in area in addition to the likes of Stanford.

Other Upper Classmen to Watch Closely

• Maurice Campbell     5'9" 175 Junior RB
• Harvey Allen              5’10” 185 Senior RB
• Patrick Chavis           5’11” 180 Senior RB
• Tyrone Neely             6’4” 225 Senior DE
• Charlie Chang           5’11” 215 Senior C
• Trey Henderson        5’11” Senior OG/DT
• John Graves              6’2” Senior S
• Griffin Hulecki           6’2” 200 Senior LB
• Luke Harbison           5’8” 160 Junior LB

Top Young Crew Rising

• Zach Eaton                6’0" 178 Soph QB
• Josh Inman                6’0” 230 Soph OG
• RJ Potts                     6’2” 158 Frosh S/LB

The listing above is greatly expanded due to a couple of things, the depth at running back on this year’s Tiger team the inexperience on the defensive side.  The running back trio of Campbell, Allen and Chavis are as good as any Fishers has ever seen.  Each of them can do big things with the ball.  This beneficial to slow the game up and allow the defense as much rest between reps as possible and to help Tigers staff and players coach up this defense.

Defensive Coach Jud appears to have his hands full this year figuring out which combinations and players are going to step up and take charge.  It will be interesting to see who steps up as vocal leaders and leaders by example.  The inexperience on defense has opened up the door for freshman RJ Potts, the son of former NFL running back Roosevelt Potts, to earn a possible spot on defense.

The Tigers will definitely need to win the turnover margin this season and the 2013 edition doesn’t present as a team that will give away every opportunity to score when possessing the ball.  It will be interesting to see the development on the defense and to chart which players will be stepping up this year. 

The listing above is subject to change and only represents those players that have earned early season mention by this fan.  We welcome all others that want to be thrown on the list!

Let’s go Tigers!  Strap up and play to win!

Aug 23 (7:00 PM)	at Noblesville High School
Aug 30 (7:00 PM)	vs Hamilton Southeastern
Sep 7 (7:00 PM)	Westfield at Lucas Oil Stadium
Sep 13 (7:00 PM)	at Avon High School
Sep 20 (7:00 PM)	vs Harrison High School
Sep 27 (7:00 PM)	vs McCutcheon High School
Oct 4 (7:00 PM)	at Zionsville High School
Oct 11 (7:00 PM)	vs Lafayette Jefferson
Oct 18 (7:00 PM)	at Brownsburg High School