Carmel holds off late charge from Fishers, wins sectional title 35-20
BY CRAIG DRAGASH
ISL Correspondent
CARMEL, Ind. — Fishers quarterback Connor Christiansen hit Indiana-bound receiver J-Shun Harris for a 71-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage, and it looked like Fishers was ready to do battle with Carmel for the Sectional 4 title.
But Fishers would struggle after that first score and Carmel would find the end zone on four of its six first half possessions. The Tigers finally mounted another drive right before halftime, but Alex Sahakian would miss on a 28-yard field goal as time expired, and the Greyhounds took a commanding 21-point lead into the locker room.
Eventually, Carmel held on for a 35-20 win on Friday night against a game Fishers squad that had won its previous nine games.
Shakir Paschall ran 22 times for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Isaac James added 135 yards on 18 carries for the Greyhounds as a team rushed for 385 yards.
Christiansen completed 19 of 27 for 285 yards and two touchdowns and Harris had 10 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown for Fishers.
Carmel will travel to Fort Wayne Carroll for the regional championship. Carroll defeated Warsaw 42-7 on Friday night.
Carmel looked like it might have as easy a time as Carroll, after Paschall took a handoff on a dive play and outran the Fishers defense for 63 yards to score his third touchdown on the night (he had scoring runs of 10 and 30 yards in the first half), in the third quarter to help Carmel extend its lead to 35-7.
Fishers answered on its next drive with a 4-yard run by Harvey Allen, and the Greyhounds’ lead was down to 21.
On Carmel’s next possession, James broke a 24-yard run into Fishers territory, and a 15-yard facemask penalty was added at the end. James left the field hobbling and sat out the next series.
Later, Fishers faced a fourth-and-two from their 45-yard line and executed an option play on a direct snap to their up-back on a punt, who pitched it to wide receiver Josh Lloyd, who was lined up as the punter. Lloyd picked up eight yards and a first down. On the next play, Christiansen found John Williams for a 34-yard pass play, and the Tigers would score two plays later on a 13-yard scoring strike from Christiansen to Simeon Foster that cut Carmel’s lead to 35-20.
With 9:10 to play, Fishers took over at its 41-yard line. The Tigers drove to the Carmel 18 before Carmel defensive tackle Sean Stetson came up with a sack to force Fishers into a fourth-and-13 from the Carmel 24. Christiansen would find Harris, but Harris stepped out of bounds four yards short of the first down marker, and Carmel took over on downs with 7:31 left and a 15-point lead.
Carmel’s next drive was marred by two holding penalties, including one on a 13-yard run by Austin Roberts that would have given the Greyhounds a first down. Carmel would again punt the ball away, and Fishers would have another chance from the Carmel 45 with 5:46 remaining. Fishers drove all the way to the Carmel 1-yard line, but on third and goal, Allen was stopped for a one yard loss. Fishers took a delay of game penalty on fourth-and-goal, so the Tigers faced fourth and goal from the seven. Christiansen would find an open Harris in the end zone, but Harris dropped the low pass, and the Greyhounds dodged a bullet.
