FISHERS -
The night was ripe for a changing of the guard.
Beyond the poor weather conditions-which brought steady rain and gusts near 30 miles-an-hour for much of the contest-its appeared that it could be the night for a young Fishers program to take the biggest step in its young tenure.
"Fishers is a great team I give them a lot of credit," said Carmel linebacker Brian East of the Tigers-who entered the game with a 9-1 record and as co-champions of the Hoosier Crossroads conference.
Read: Carmel Gets Momentum As Season Ends
After Friday night, the compliments may be returned to East, especially when it comes to defense. The Greyhounds kept a Fishers offense that averaged 37 points per game off the scoreboard for 48 minutes on Friday night in advancing to the Sectional 4 championship with a 7-0 win at Clarian Health Field Friday night.
"Its been a lot of wet Friday nights," said head coach Mo Moriarity after the victory. "But somehow we figure out a way to win and that's what we did tonight."
The defense did a lot of heavy lifting for the Greyhounds, who picked up the only score of the game in the first half on a touchdown run by Devin Brinson. With little going for the Greyhounds on offense, the defense stepped up and kept Alex Hines and the Tigers from doing much of anything for the first three quarters.
"We studied this team hard," said East of the success which Carmel had against Fishers' offense. "We can sort of predict what they're gonna do, from then on it's just playing football."
Read: Fishers Wins HCC With 8-1 Regular Season
East and his defensive teammates did that best when the were finally able to make their way into Greyhounds territory. After a Brian Sutton block gave Fishers the ball inside the Carmel 40 yard line, the Tigers were able to march inside the Grehounds 20. But there the defense took hold for Carmel thanks to tough secondary defense, an East sack on Hines, then forced a bad pass on fourth down to stall the drive.
With just under four minutes left, the Tigers made their way down field again thanks to some third down conversions on passes from Hines along with three Carmel penalties But like before the Greyhounds didn't break, forcing four straight incomplete passes by the Tigers in the final minute to seal the victory.
"Like the Center Grove game (A 13-10 Carmel Win in September) our guys step up at the right times, make plays when we need to an get the job done," said East of the Greyhounds' fourth quarter defensive stops.
Read: Carmel Wins Rivalry Game Against Center Grove
Such a dramatic ending was also made possible by Fishers' defense, who was just as effective sans one first half drive. The Tigers held Carmel to their second lowest point total of the season, though the Greyhounds ran the ball through most of the second half.
"We we're pretty conservative in the second half," said Moriarity of the Greyhounds' offense. "Our defense has been pretty solid all year. It's windy, its wet and you've just got to do the best you can."
Beyond the poor weather conditions-which brought steady rain and gusts near 30 miles-an-hour for much of the contest-its appeared that it could be the night for a young Fishers program to take the biggest step in its young tenure.
"Fishers is a great team I give them a lot of credit," said Carmel linebacker Brian East of the Tigers-who entered the game with a 9-1 record and as co-champions of the Hoosier Crossroads conference.
Read: Carmel Gets Momentum As Season Ends
After Friday night, the compliments may be returned to East, especially when it comes to defense. The Greyhounds kept a Fishers offense that averaged 37 points per game off the scoreboard for 48 minutes on Friday night in advancing to the Sectional 4 championship with a 7-0 win at Clarian Health Field Friday night.
"Its been a lot of wet Friday nights," said head coach Mo Moriarity after the victory. "But somehow we figure out a way to win and that's what we did tonight."
The defense did a lot of heavy lifting for the Greyhounds, who picked up the only score of the game in the first half on a touchdown run by Devin Brinson. With little going for the Greyhounds on offense, the defense stepped up and kept Alex Hines and the Tigers from doing much of anything for the first three quarters.
"We studied this team hard," said East of the success which Carmel had against Fishers' offense. "We can sort of predict what they're gonna do, from then on it's just playing football."
Read: Fishers Wins HCC With 8-1 Regular Season
East and his defensive teammates did that best when the were finally able to make their way into Greyhounds territory. After a Brian Sutton block gave Fishers the ball inside the Carmel 40 yard line, the Tigers were able to march inside the Grehounds 20. But there the defense took hold for Carmel thanks to tough secondary defense, an East sack on Hines, then forced a bad pass on fourth down to stall the drive.
With just under four minutes left, the Tigers made their way down field again thanks to some third down conversions on passes from Hines along with three Carmel penalties But like before the Greyhounds didn't break, forcing four straight incomplete passes by the Tigers in the final minute to seal the victory.
"Like the Center Grove game (A 13-10 Carmel Win in September) our guys step up at the right times, make plays when we need to an get the job done," said East of the Greyhounds' fourth quarter defensive stops.
Read: Carmel Wins Rivalry Game Against Center Grove
Such a dramatic ending was also made possible by Fishers' defense, who was just as effective sans one first half drive. The Tigers held Carmel to their second lowest point total of the season, though the Greyhounds ran the ball through most of the second half.
"We we're pretty conservative in the second half," said Moriarity of the Greyhounds' offense. "Our defense has been pretty solid all year. It's windy, its wet and you've just got to do the best you can."
