Oh What A Tiger Night!

     Fishers Tigers provided the fans with a night to remember and rejoice in taking back bragging rights in games that matter against rival HSE.  The fans, the players, the media all knew what happened in the previous matchup and how strong the HCC champ Royals had been all season.  The Tigers made sure a repeat collapse would not happen again with a 38-22 knock out to the Royals dreams of making a deep run in the playoffs.

     The Royals turnovers in the early stages of the game turned into 10 Tiger points and the Tigers would turn out an incredible running attack led by the 3-headed squad of Jeremy Chinn (18 for 182 yards), Trevor Newman (17 for 83 yards) and Jermaine Huddleston (9 for 67 yards, 1 TD).  Quarterback Zach Eaton also showed great composure completing 11 out of 21 for 177 yards and 3 TDs.  Offensively, the true stars of the night for the Tigers were the offensive linemen who completely dominated the line of scrimmage and the break away runs by Jeremy Chinn.  The offensive line protected Zach Eaton and continuously disoriented the Royal defense rush and opened up holes for Tigers running backs all night.

     Leading receiver for the Tigers was Keyshawn Burrell (7 catches for 94 yards, 2 TDs).  The play of the night had to be the double lateral from Jermaine Huddleston and Jeremy Chinn that put the ball back in Eaton's hands for a long touchdown pass that dealt a blow to the Royals looking to pick up any momentum.

     Defensively, the Tigers did a great job mitigating big plays outside of a big play to Aaron Matio in the first half.  On the night, the Royals fumbled 3 times losing 2.  Both turnovers were critical allowing the Tigers to control the game and put points on the board.  Taking advantage of the Royal turnovers and controlling the ball, the Tigers were able to possess the ball twice as long as the Royals.  The Tigers controlled the flow of the game immediately after the first possession of the game proved lackluster.  This night, the Tigers woke up early and were committed to the game plan execution and kept the Royals in submission.

Offensive Player of the Game:  share between O Line and Jeremy Chinn
Defensive Player of the Game:  tough one in a quality, balanced effort but I am going to give it to our defensive ends, S. Taylor and J. Winkle.  They pressed all night on the pass and turned away many big play opportunities for the Royals running game.  It is actually hard not to give game balls to both lines tonight.  We can say the big guys on both lines provided the energy for the Tigers to win this big game!

Next Week: @ Carmel

Complete game stats available at Fishers Athletics

Game replay video available through Fishers Sports Network

Westfield Preview

Preview:  Fishers @ Westfield, October 9th

     Tigers (4-3) look to getting back on the winning track on the road friday night against conference foe Westfield Shamrocks (4-3).  Westfield started the season with 4 straight wins before dropping their recent 3.

Aug 21 - vs Harrison - win 38-21
Aug 28 - at Southport - win 40-36
Sept 4 - at Zionsville - win 45-30
Sept 11 - vs Noblesville - win 18-14
Sept 18 - HSE (Lucas) - loss 18-34
Sept 25 - vs Brownsburg - loss 30-59
Oct 2 - at Avon - loss 20-35

     The Shamrocks have struggled, particularly on offense but have also seen their defense at time almost keep them in the games despite getting behind early.  Their defense has given up a lot of deep pass plays against oppenents, particularly against Brownsburg and HSE.  Against Avon, Westfield was down 28-0 but they were able to get closer and kept fighting.

     QB Ryan Pepiot is a quality passer and his favorite receiver has been Evan Manley.  In the special teams corps, they have a very good kicker, Alex Bales, who managed to nail a 51 yard FG against Brownsburg.  The Shamrocks also managed to block 2 punts against HSE so it is an area of the game they are very capable of turning a game around quickly with.

     Tigers will need to play mistake free on offense, execute efficiently and score at least 6 times down the field I believe to win this game.  The defense for the Tigers has been giving up more points and can certainly get back to what we saw during the initial weeks of the season especially if some key defensive lineman are healthy.

Prediction:  Fishers 35, Westfield 21

Hoosier Crossroads Conference Standings and Results

HOOSIER CROSSROADS
ALL TIMES EASTERN
	CONFERENCE			ALL GAMES
	W-L	Pts	OP	W-L	Pts	OP	Streak
Hamilton Southeastern	5-0	149	102	6-  1	197	144	Won 6
Avon	3-1	145	76	5-  2	262	125	Won 4
Fishers	2-2	122	111	4-  3	176	154	Lost 2
Brownsburg	2-2	169	164	3-  4	318	291	Won 2
Westfield	2-3	131	172	4-  3	209	229	Lost 3
Noblesville	1-3	62	97	3-  4	168	174	Lost 2
Zionsville	0-4	113	169	3-  4	210	196	Lost 3

October 2nd scores:

HSE 20, Noblesville 12

Avon 35, Westfield 20

Brownsburg 66, Zionsville 41 

October 9th Conference Schedule:

Columbus Hartley (Ohio) at HSE

Avon at Zionsville

Brownsburg at Noblesville

Fishers at Westfield

Tigers Fall to Irish 35-6 at the Vic

   

     Fishers Tigers traveled downtown for a showdown with Cathedral Irish for first football game ever at Victory Field, home of the AAA Indians baseball team.  The trip was a tough one with Tigers losing 35-6 letting the Cathedral running attack put up 358 yards and a total of 430.  Fishers was able to keep the game within reach going to halftime down 14-6 but a 21 point 3rd quarter explosion by Cathedral put the game away for the Irish.

     Tigers were held to only 197 yards total offense on 44 yards rushing and 153 in the air.  Third down conversions continue to plaque the Tigers of late and were 3 of 15 opportunities on third against the Irish.  The brightest spot on the night was the placekicking by Ben Norton who made field goals of 22 and 42 yards the few times the Tigers were able to get into Cathedral territory.

     Irish averaged 7 yards per play on the night.  Sophomore Irish running back, Markese Stepp, rushed 24 times for 271 yards, 3 touchdowns and a long of 88 yards.  Stepp was continuously able to make a quick cut at the line of scrimmage and run through big holes leading to big runs up the middle.  The injuries to the Tiger defensive line have taking their toll and full strength would have been welcomed for such a historic match up.

Breakout player of the Game:  Sophomore Will Syrus, 3 catches for 78 yards.

Player of the Game:  Ben Norton, 2 FGs (22, 42).

Complete Game Stats

Next opponent for Fishers Tigers:  7pm kickoff at Westfield, October 9th.