Fishers seemed like it was holding nothing back during its season-opening game with North Central Friday night at the Tigers’ TCU Field.
That aggressive attitude paid off, as Fishers cruised to a 27-7 victory over the Panthers. The Tigers used true balance in its offensive game, with 183 yards rushing and 173 yards passing, a total of 356 yards.
“I thought we did some really nice things on offense,” said Tigers coach Curt Funk. “Obviously we have areas that we got to improve. We had some miscommunication with our formation shifts and alignments, and that’s just something we can take care of in practice.”
Meanwhile, Fishers’ defense held NC to 193 yards.
“I was really impressed with our defensive effort and game-playing,” said Funk. “I thought our defensive coaches did a nice job developing a game plan.”
The Tigers’ first touchdown came four minutes into the first quarter, when Collin McPeek hauled in a 42-yard pass from Lucas Minns and took it into the end zone. Dominic Oliverio then made a two-point conversion run.
Fishers added two more scores late in the second quarter. Oliverio ran the ball in from 20 yards, then Carson Dunn scored on a five-yard run. Minns struck again in the fourth quarter, sending a 10-yard touchdown pass to Michael Schnurr.
“I thought Lucas Minns did an outstanding job for his first high school varsity start,” said Funk.
Minns completed 9 of 14 pass attempts for 173 yards. Three Tigers receivers gained at least 50 yards over the air: McPeek had 61 yards in three catches, Aidan Zimmer totaled 52 yards in two catches and Jeffrey Simmons gained 50 yards in two receptions. On the ground, Dunn totaled 116 yards rushing in 23 carries.
Fishers plays at Pike next Friday.
FISHERS 27, NORTH CENTRAL 7
Score by Quarters
North Central 0 0 0 7 – 7
Fishers 8 12 0 7 – 27
Team Stats NC FI
First Downs 9 13
By Rush 4 6
By Pass 4 7
By Penalty 1 0
Rushes-Yards 29-60 37-183
Yards Passing 133 173
Comp-Att-Int-TD 12-33-2-0 9-14-0-2
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 4-4
Penalties-Yards 4-29 2-20
Punts-Average 5-25.2 3-34.3
Fishers Scoring
First Quarter
7:59 – Collin McPeek 42-yard pass from Lucas Minns (Dominic Oliverio run)
Second Quarter
3:20 – Oliverio 20-yard run (pass failed)
1:06 – Carson Dunn 5-yard run (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
5:16 – Michael Schnurr 10-yard pass from Minns (Tate Talbot kick)
Fishers individual stats
Rushing: Dunn 23-116, Khobie Martin 3-49, Oliverio 6-29, Jackson Akers 1-7, Minns 3-2, Ian Jennings 1-minus 6.
Passing: Minns 9-14-173.
Receiving: McPeek 3-61, Aidan Zimmer 2-52, Jeffrey Simmons 2-50, Schnurr 1-10, Hunter Strole 1-0.