By CRAIG ADKINS
The final home game of the regular season is normally saved to be a night to honor the seniors. Friday night was no different for the Fishers Tigers, as they honored 29 football seniors, thanking them for their hard work and dedication to the football program throughout their four years.
It took a second half wake-up call for both teams, but it was the Fishers Tigers that came clawing out of this Hoosier Crossroads Conference battle for the win, 11-7.
Westfield was starting to drive a little in the middle of the first, but they turned the ball over at will. Shamrock quarterback Camden Simons rolled to his right and looked to be throwing the ball out of bounds on third down, but the pass was intercepted by Tigers’ cornerback Jason Lassic at the 35.
Neither team was really able to get that far into the opponent’s side of the field before the half. This resulted in Westfield’s Alex Bales missing on a 52 yard field goal attempt, that was partially deflected by Lassic and Jack Phillips of Fishers fell short of making a 44-yard try that left the two teams scoreless at halftime, 0-0.
Simons got the first touchdown on the board with a 20-yard strike to Kyle Pepiot for a 7-0 ‘Rocks lead.
Other than a couple drives in the second half, it seems like Westfield’s offense got to points where it stalled out on drives, which just led to frustration down the stretch.
“Well, we didn’t do much,” said Westfield head coach Jake Gilbert on his team’s offensive output.
“Obviously, when you hold a team to nine points defensively, you gotta win a game. You only score seven, we just gotta do a better job. We didn’t run the football as well as we typically do. Kudos to Fishers defense. They’re a very good defense and they stuffed us tonight,” said Gilbert, continuing to comment on his team’s output and complimenting the Fishers defense.
The following drive, the Tigers would get the chance to put a score up themselves. The drive was highlighted by a 57-yard first down catch by Collin Statz from sophomore, third-string QB Lucas Prewitt. Junior kicker Jack Phillips would convert his field goal try from 25 yards away, cutting the deficit to 7-3.
A couple drives later, Fishers was forced to punt and Phillips was able to pin the Shamrocks deep at their own 1-yard line to start the next series.
On the second play, the ball was snapped of Simons head, rolling out of the back of the end zone for a Tiger safety, narrowing the gap even more at 7-5.
During the second half, it was all about finding ways to convert great defensive play into points on the scoreboard, which obviously kept the Westfield offense off the field for a majority of the fourth quarter.
“We just had a hard time finishing drives this year. We’ve had some decent drives that we just had a hard time finishing them,” said Fishers head coach Rick Wimmer on his team not being able to finish drives most of the season, but it was able to on Friday.
In the latter part of the third and most of the fourth, it was junior tailback Dylan Scally that carried the load. Scally was the workhorse on the Tigers’ touchdown drive, carrying nine times for 42 yards. He capped it off with what wound up being the game-winning score on a 25-yard run, on a third and 11 at the Westfield’s 25, right down the home sideline for the TD scamper for an 11-7 Fishers edge.
“We got a great run out of Scally right there. I thought HL ran tough, awful tough tonight,” said Wimmer, noting the great running of his backfield.
Once the Tigers grabbed the lead, it was like their defense stepped it up another notch the remainder of the game. They gave way to some big gains on the ground by the Shamrocks, but they didn’t fully break down, holding tough in defending their narrow four-point lead.
“We talk about the offense, but the credit really is our defense,” said Wimmer on how well his defense played.
“What a great job by our defense tonight. I’m very fortunate that we’re playing that well on defense and the credit goes to Coach Judd and our defensive staff,” said Coach Wimmer, continuing on the defense and especially crediting the defensive staff.
The Tigers were able to move the ball throughout the night. Their offensive line created opportunities for their backfield to make cuts and get out into the open and get through holes.
“I thought out offensive line was really steady tonight. That’s a good defense they play. They’re gonna make it tough for you to run the ball, but we were able to do it enough,” said Wimmer, complimenting his offensive line and its great night, which allowed his ball carriers more room to run.
At the end of this HCC victory for Fishers, you’ve got to tip your hat to sophomore quarterback Lucas Prewitt, who stepped up and showed that he can more than compete at the varsity level. Prewitt filled in for injured first and second string quarterbacks senior Jon Vore and junior Marcus Roux, who were both out injured.
“Our sophomore quarterback Lucas Prewitt in his first opportunity made some big plays. Statz had a huge one that got us down there, of course we only got a field got out of it, but that was important,” said Wimmer, praising his young QB.
When it came down to it, Fishers was able to find the way to score on offense to take the lead in the fourth, but their defense played stout late in the fourth to seal the victory for the Tigers’ second consecutive HCC win.
Westfield (3-5, 2-4 HCC) dropped its third in a row and fourth in the last five. They’ll finish up regular season by hosting Franklin Central (2-6, 1-5 HCC), who upended Hamilton Southeastern at home on Friday, 37-28.
The Shamrocks’ offense was led by Eli Patchett’s 54 yards on 16 carries and he also had four receptions for 28 yards. Patrick Beam caught three for 42 and Kyle Pepiot snagged four for 50 and a TD. Simons finished 15-for-23 through the air for 153 yards with a touchdown and an INT.
Fishers (3-5, 2-4 HCC) grabbed its second win in a row and will go on the road in their regular season finale at Zionsville (4-4, 3-3 HCC). The Eagles had a huge 32-29 win at 6A No. 5 Avon on Friday night.
The Tigers’ offense was pretty efficient with their rushing game. HL Lewis led with 17 carries and 86 yards and was complimented with Dylan Scally’s 71 yards on 15 rushes and a touchdown. Soph QB Lucas Prewitt only went 7-of-24 for 151 yards, but made them count. Collin Statz caught five passes for 118 yards, including a big 57-yarder that set up Phillips’ third-quarter field goal.
Westfield quarterback Camden Simons makes a run to put the Shamrocks in scoring position with less than a minute to play during the Westfield-Fishers football game Friday at Reynolds Tigers Stadium. Fishers hung on to get an 11-7 win over the Shamrocks. Pictured at left for the Tigers is Alex Eldridge (92). (Kirk Green)