Notre Dame junior quarterback Bryce McGraw (5)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

PORTSMOUTH — Bryce McGraw’s quarterback debut saw the Notre Dame junior throw for 288 yards with six touchdowns, and add 119 yards rushing with one touchdown, as the Titans knocked off visiting Fairfield Christian Academy 60-48 on Saturday afternoon at a sunsplashed Spartan Stadium.

McGraw, who carried 20 times, completed 15 of 23 passes and posted a combined offensive effort of 407 yards — tallying a 147.73 passer rating in the season-opening win for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame junior quarterback Bryce McGraw (5)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

“This was his first game to start at quarterback and he really stepped up and played well,” second-year Notre Dame head football coach Buster Davis said. “He played like a veteran today and made good decisions with the ball.”

Notre Dame wide receiver Ethan Kingrey — last season’s all-Southeast District Division VII first-team quarterback — pulled down four passes for 72 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

“This was Ethan’s first game as a receiver and he made some good plays,” Davis added. “We got some one-on-one situations, and he was able to go up and get the ball.”

Freshman Keagan Fowler started the Notre Dame (1-0) scoring barrage with 1:17 to go in the first quarter — when he picked off FCA quarterback Parker Couch and went 45 yards to the end zone for the 8-0 lead.

McGraw ran in for the two-point conversion.

Offensively, Fowler finished the game with three catches for 110 yards and added two touchdowns.

“He has steadily improved since June, and he’s got a bright future,” Davis said. “He’s been through the grinder and did some good things today.”

With four minutes to go in the second quarter, McGraw found Kingrey in the end zone for the score and the 14-0 lead.

But Fairfield Christian (0-1) answered, when Danny Blair took the short kickoff 49 yards for the touchdown — with 3:49 remaining on the clock.

Notre Dame countered when McGraw found Connor Estep alone in the end zone for a 16-yard TD strike and the 20-6 lead.

The Knights immediately answered when Blair took the handoff from Couch on the first play ensuing, and romped 53 yards for the touchdown.

Blair finished the game with 121 yards on the ground on 17 carries with one score.

“We have to learn to put teams away,” Davis said. “And that comes with maturity. We are playing nine freshmen, and we have a lot to learn. There some first-game jitters out there and I think our kids settled in and handled that. We played hard and we finished hart. Mistakes will work themselves out with time.”

The Titans kept the foot on the gas with 8:47 to go in the third — when McGraw connected with Fowler for an 11-yard TD strike and the 26-14 lead.

On the next drive, FCA’s Brayden Stem galloped 19 yards into the end zone —making the score 26-21 with 4:15 left in the third.

However, the Knights never got any closer after that.

“They just kept coming and countering our scores,” Davis said of the Knights. “But you know what, we did too. Every time they scored, we bounced back and put points on the board too and didn’t give up.”

McGraw matched up for back-to-back touchdown passes for 16 and 22 yards to Kingrey, boosting the score to 38-21.

After Couch found T.J. Blair for a 46-yard TD strike, Notre Dame scored two times in a row again — when McGraw tossed a 45-yard TD pass to Fowler, followed by a Jaxon Stombock 48-yard fumble recovery return.

The Titans took a 52-28 lead with 10:08 remaining —with that second defensive score.

“The defense played well,” Davis said. “We had two scores from the defense on turnovers.”

McGraw capped the Notre Dame scoring with a seven-yard scamper into the end zone — with 5:49 to go in the game.

Notre Dame sophomore Chris Piccolo (2)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

“It was hot and there were a lot of kids cramping up, but they played through it,” Davis added. “We need to work on our tackling, but that comes with reps too. Overall, I was pleased but we have some work to do.”

Notre Dame will travel to non-league Adena on Friday night.

* * *

Fairfield Christian 0 14 14 20 —48

Notre Dame 8 12 18 22 — 60

ND — Keagan Fowler, 45-yard interception return (Bryce McGraw run), 1:17, 1st (8-0 ND)

ND—Ethan Kingrey, 9-yard pass from Bryce McGraw, 4:00, 2nd (14-0 ND)

FCA — Danny Blair, 53-yard run (kick failed), 3:49, 2nd (14-6 ND)

ND — Connor Estep, 16-yard pass from Bryce McGraw (pass failed), 2:13, 2nd (20-6 ND)

FCA — Danny Blair, 49-yard kickoff return (T.J. Blair pass from Brayden Stem), :33, 2nd (20-14 ND)

ND — Keagan Fowler, 11-yard pass from Bryce McGraw (pass failed), 8:47, 3rd (26-14 ND)

FCA — Brayden Stem, 19-yard run (T.J. Blair kick), 4:15, 3rd (26-21 ND)

ND —Ethan Kingrey, 16-yard pass from Bryce McGraw (run failed), 1:11, 3rd (32-21 ND)

ND —Ethan Kingrey, 22-yard pass from Bryce McGraw (pass failed), :16, 3rd (38-21 ND)

FCA —T.J. Blair, 46-yard pass from Parker Couch (T.J. Blair kick), :02, 3rd (38-28 ND)

ND — Keagan Fowler, 45-yard pass from Bryce McGraw (Bryce McGraw run), 11:29, 4th (46-28 ND)

ND — Jaxon Stombock, 48-yard fumble recovery return (pass failed), 10:08, 4th (52-28 ND)

FCA —T.J. Blair,16-yard pass from Parker Couch (T.J. Blair run), 8:17, 4th (52-36 ND)

FCA — Parker Couch, 12-yard run (run failed), 6:52, 4th (52-42 ND)

ND — Bryce McGraw, 7-yard run (Jaxon Stombock pass from Warren Kelly), 5:49, 4th (60-42 ND)

FCA — T.J. Blair, 15-yard pass from Parker Couch (run failed), :20, 4th (60-48 ND)

Team Statistics

FCA ND

First Downs 16 23

Scrimmage plays 61 62

Rushes-yards 35-199 38-238

Passing yards 149 288

Total yards 348 526

Cmp-Att-Int. 14-26-2 15-24-2

Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-1

Penalties-yards 5-45 8-50

Punts-Ave. 3-35 1-34

——

Individual Leaders

RUSHING —Fairfield Christian: Danny Blair 17-102 TD, Parker Couch 15-76 TD, Brayden Stem 2-16 TD, T.J. Blair 1-5; Notre Dame:Bryce McGraw 20-119 TD, Eugene Collins 10-105, Archie West 5-15, Chris Piccolo 2-3, Warren Kelly 1-(-4)

PASSING — Fairfield Christian: Parker Couch 14-26-2-149 3TD; Notre Dame: Bryce McGraw 15-23-2-238 6TD, Warren Kelly 0-1-0-0

RECEIVING— Fairfield Christian: T.J. Blair 5-88 3TD, Danny Blair 3-30, Brayden Stem 3-23, Eli Herron 2-19, Zach Price 1-(-11); Notre Dame:Ethan Kingrey 4-72 3TD, Keagan Fowler 3-110 2TD, Eugene Collins 3-64, Archie West 2-23, Connor Estep 1-16 TD, Chris Piccolo 2-3