Fishers High School

The Fishers Tigers hosted the Southeastern Royals for the 20th annual Mudsock Game. The Tigers jumped out to a 21-point lead after the 1st quarter, but the Royals controlled the action in the 2nd quarter. However, the Tigers defense stepped up and protected the lead throughout the 2nd half. The Tigers racked up over 400 yards including 234 yards on the ground – 105 from Ryan Thembulembu and 86 from Gage Sturgill. Sturgill also passed for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Tigers received the opening kickoff started with a scramble by quarterback Gage Sturgill. On 4th down, Sturgill avoided a tackler and appeared to be throwing the ball away but somehow found Rozzi for a conversion. After a 18-yard run by Sam Hawkins Jr to get into the red zone, Ryan Thembulembu finished with a 1-yard dive. On the first Royals possession, Atticus Finley had a great pass break up to force a punt. The Tigers wasted no time on offense as Sturgill connected with Rozzi for a 42-yard touchdown to push the lead to 14-0 in favor of Fishers midway through the 1st. Another defensive stand was highlighted by a pass break up by Graham Imes to force another punt. Thembulembu had a long run to get the drive going before Sturgill connected through the air with him for a 3rd and goal touchdown pass from the 15-yard line. As much as the Tigers controlled the 1st quarter, the Royals seemed to push the action in the 2nd. After a good drive to get into the red zone, Jaxson Andrews broke up a pass to force a 37-yard field goal by Luke Marchionni to get the Royals on the board. The Tigers struggled to get anything going on the next couple of drives and the Royals took advantage. After starting at midfield, Carter Reed finished the drive with a 5-yard option touchdown to cut the lead to 21-10 in favor of Fishers. The Royals again had a short field, but the Tigers defense stepped up and forced a turnover on downs as Carson Eloms broke up the pass. After a punt, the Royals appeared to be putting together a drive to end the first half, but Owen Stout forced a fumble from the Royals receiver and Graham Imes recovered around midfield. The first pass was just over Rozzi’s fingers, and the Tigers chose to just run out the clock taking a 21-10 lead into the locker room. The defenses ruled the 3rd quarter as the Royals punted twice, and Fishers punted once. The offensive highlight was a 54-yard scramble by Sturgill as he weaved in and out and around defenders for a beautiful touchdown to push the lead to 28-10. The defense had a highlight of their own as Kayden Myers picked off quarterback Deaken Johnson and returned it to the Royals 17 as the clock ran down in the 3rd quarter. The Tigers offense stalled, and Fishers was forced to attempt a field goal. A bad snap was recovered by the Royals. As Southeastern approached midfield, Tyler Maynard stepped up with a tackle on 4th down to force a turnover on downs. The Royals scored late in the 4th as Johnson connected with Graham Toner for a 19-yard pass. The Royals kicked deep and the Tigers were able to run out the clock to secure the victory.