LANCASTER – Fisher Catholic got off to a great start to Saturday’s nonconference game against visiting Portsmouth Notre Dame. However, things went downhill from there for the Irish, who failed to capitalize on three scoring opportunities.
A key sequence late in the first half turned the game in favor of the Titans (3-0), and they were able to pull away for a 34-6 victory on Sept. 6 at Fulton Field.
Fisher Catholic’s offense moved the ball throughout the game but bogged down in the red zone on three different occasions, including twice in the first half, which turned out to be huge.
The key sequence took place after the Irish (2-1) had jumped out to a 6-0 lead with 9:06 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run from Landon Huffer. The Titans tied the score with 4:25 left in the first on a 1-yard scoring run, and they took a 13-6 lead when quarterback Luke Cassidy scored on a 38-yard run with 6:07 left in the first half.
Before the Titans’ score to take the lead, the Irish had gone on a 13-play drive and had the ball first-and-10 at the Titans’ 14-yard line, but Fisher Catholic couldn’t cash in and turned the ball over on downs.
The Final three minutes of the first half turned the tide for good. Notre Dame scored on a 98-yard touchdown run from Bryce McGraw, who made four Fisher Catholic tacklers miss on the play. That gave the Titans a 20-6 lead with 3:15 left in the half.
The Irish came right back, though, as sophomore quarterback James Wilkinson directed a drive that saw him complete 6 of 8 passes. However, with only 26 seconds remaining in the first half, the Irish turned the ball over on downs at the Titans’ 9-yard line. Instead of going in at halftime down one score, they went down two.
“We did some uncharacteristic things tonight, but our offense needs to figure some things out,” Fisher Catholic coach Luke Thimmes said. “We aren’t consistent enough, and we have some positions that we need to get better play out of. We were just disjointed and couldn’t find a good rhythm. We know what we have, but we need to come together offensively. We just had some bad plays at inopportune times.”
Cassidy and McGraw would add touchdown runs in the second half to enable the Titans to pull away.
Notre Dame outgained the Irish 301-196 in total yards. Cassidy rushed for 93 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns, and he passed for 46 more yards. McGraw added 126 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Ethan O’Rielley led the Irish with 43 yards rushing on nine carries, Huffer finished with 41 yards on six attempts, and Sam Tencza carried the ball 10 times for 39 yards. Wilkinson completed 6 of 12 passes for 67 yards, and Luke Carins had five catches for 60 yards.
The Irish will begin Mid-State League-Cardinal Division play on the road against rival Fairfield Christian Academy on Sept. 12.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: H.S. Football: Fisher Catholic suffers first loss after failing to cash in against ND
Reporting by Tom Wilson, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette / Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
