The Fighting Irish run through Knights in the ‘Holy Game’
By: Nikos Stollenwerk
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LANCASTER, Ohio (WOUB) — The Fisher Catholic Fighting Irish defeated the Fairfield Christian Knights for a second straight year, winning 32-21 on their homecoming night.
The first quarter began with an absurd 61-yard scoring drive by Fisher Catholic in which all eleven plays were runs, ending in a rushing touchdown by quarterback James Wilkinson. After a blocked extra point attempt, Fairfield Christian would quickly punt back to Fisher Catholic.
The Fighting Irish had a quick three-and-out, and again special teams would greatly impact the game, this time in the form of a mishandled punt in which the Knights’ Cooper Varnell would scoop up and take it into the end zone. This time, the extra point would be good, making the score 7-6 in favor of the Knights.
Fisher Catholic would respond on the first play of the second quarter with the first passing touchdown of the game, courtesy of a nice catch over the middle by Blake Wohrer. The Fighting Irish would try to make it an even 14, but a high pass would mean a failed two-point conversion and a five-point lead for Fisher Catholic.
Both teams would slow down for a few possessions until Fairfield Christian would recover a fumble and capitalize. Quarterback Anthony Lama would string together a couple of solid passes, and running back Darian Hamill would punch it in to take the lead, but another extra point was missed. The half would end with a tight 13-12 lead for Fairfield Christian.
The third quarter would stay slow, with no points by either squad. However, thanks to utility player Ethan O’Rielley, it would not stay that way in the fourth. O’Rielley helped the Fighting Irish retake the lead with a rushing touchdown early in the final quarter, but he wasn’t done there.
On Fairfield Christian’s ensuing drive, O’Rielley would score again, this time on defense in the form of an interception returned for a touchdown. In a blink of an eye, a one-point lead for Fairfield Christian imploded into a 14-point lead for Fisher Catholic.
Both teams would trade empty possessions until yet another rushing touchdown would be punched in for the Fighting Irish, this time thanks to Charles Tencza. Fairfield Christian’s Henry Roberts would score one more time in the final thirty seconds, but it would be in vain.
Fisher would take home the win, pushing them to 5-4 all-time vs. Fairfield Christian. In week 4, Fisher Catholic will head to Zanesville to take on Bishop Rosecrans, and Fairfield Christian will take on Symmes Valley in Lawrence County.