Notre Dame sophomore Luke Cassidy (12)

Courtesy of Kristi Hadsell

LANCASTER — Notre Dame did in fact play the football pinball numbers game against host Fisher Catholic on Saturday night.

However, the Titan defense is what did the job the best.

That’s because the 21-man Titans pitched a shutout for the final 22 minutes and 13 seconds, scored the final 24 points over the final quarter-and-a-half, and amassed impressive offensive statistics — en route to a 46-17 rout at sunsplashed yet spacious Fulton Field in Lancaster.

The non-league win was Notre Dame’s third in a row over the Irish — as the Titans have scored at least 35 points in each.

But for this year, Notre Dame raised its record to 3-0 — as the Titans set themselves up for a matchup against undefeated and like 3-0 Meigs Eastern on Friday night, with both teams also appearing in the top-4 of the unofficial yet highly-respected www.joeeitel.com computer ratings.

Eastern enters second in Division VII Region 27 and Notre Dame fourth — but more momentarily on that tilt.

The loss left the underdog Irish at 1-2, although it did battle back with second-stanza touchdowns — trailing the Titans 16-0 early and 22-7 late.

In fact, Fisher Catholic came within 22-17 only a minute and 47 seconds into the third quarter — on a Peyton Owens 33-yard field goal.

Owens — originally a Gallia Academy Blue Devil — first scored on a six-yard run a full dozen minutes earlier, then kicked the extra point to make it 16-7.

Owens also made the extra-point kick following the second Irish TD — a 25-yarder from quarterback Grant Keefer to Hyde O’Rielley with just three seconds left before halftime.

But the Titans took control again with their own transfer standout — as senior running back Jordan Davis, who came to Notre Dame when his father Buster Davis was hired as the head coach — scored on a 12-yard run midway through the period, capping a quick five-play 30-yard two-minute and 10-second scoring drive.

The series was set up by Davis recovering an Irish fumble, as Davis’ second of four two-point conversion runs made it 30-17.

Buster Davis did dial up a new-look no-huddle fast-paced and high-octane offense when he came to Titan territory in June, and again the statistics shone through.

Still, when the Irish appeared poised to threaten in the second half, Notre Dame made a defensive play.

“We told the kids that if they (Irish) don’t score anymore…Our kids believe they can win, and that’s the biggest thing about coaching, and they understand what they have to do. They went out, went to work and that’s what they did,” said Coach Davis. “How do you get your kids to believe they can win. That’s the biggest thing we’re trying to change with this program. It’s believe, believe, believe until the clock says zero. We went out and prevented them from scoring (touchdowns) in the second half.”

In that second half, sophomores Ethan Kingrey and Bryce McGraw made interceptions — including Kingrey’s at the goal line with four minutes left in the third.

Five plays later, Notre Dame — and this time Kingrey throwing the football — struck again, as Kingrey connected with another sophomore, Luke Cassidy, for a 78-yard touchdown strike only a minute-and-a-half later.

Davis added another two-point run to make it 38-17, as the Irish ended the third quarter by going three-and-out — and opening the final period with a turnover on downs.

The Titans then drove 70 yards in 10 plays and three minutes for their final score — a Myles Phillips four-yard run and Davis’ fourth and final two-point conversion.

As the Irish played two quarterbacks, they rushed only 14 times for three yards — as the Titans often brought all-out blitzes, which resulted in QB pressures, hurries and ultimately sacks.

Owens and Keefer combined to go just 8-of-33 passing — as Notre Dame did keep the Irish around for two-and-a-half quarters, thanks in part to a bevy of penalties.

Fisher Catholic also punted five times — all following three-and-out possessions.

“We got to the quarterback a lot in both halves, but we just missed some tackles early. Once we were locked in, we were locked in,” said the coach.

Davis, father and son both, were locked in offensively — as the younger Davis scored on a pair of eight-yard runs in the first 12 minutes and two seconds.

The first occurred only three minutes and 15 seconds in, and ended a seven-play and 60-yard drive, while the second followed an eight-play, 44-yard, three-minute and 21-second series —and came with only two tics gone by in the second quarter.

McGraw got the first two-point run and Davis the second, as Davis’ third TD came on a one-yard dive — with 32 seconds left before halftime to make it 22-7.

That was the third of three straight six-play possessions, as the first was beset by back-to-back quarterback sacks — and the second by a pair of holding calls.

Both possessions ended in the Titans’ two punts, but otherwise — aside from a lost fumble at the FC 10-yard line on its second series — Notre Dame was swiftly driving away.

The only negative numbers for Saturday night — 15 penalties for 153 yards.

Coach Davis did address that question — as Notre Dame did stop itself at times.

“I mean 15 penalties for 150 yards. You can’t be a championship program like that. So we have to clean those up,” he said. “Some I agree with and some I didn’t, but that’s football. We still have to clean those up in order for us to be a championship program down the line.”

As an offense, the Titans tallied a whopping 632 yards on a hefty 88 plays from scrimmage — amassing 33 first downs while rushing 61 times for 376 yards, as Kingrey completed 17-of-27 passes for 256.

Cassidy caught five of those for 141 —aided significantly by his 78-yard TD reception.

For Davis, his four touchdowns and four two-point runs accounted for 32 of the Titans’ 46 points, as he racked up 193 rushing yards on 26 attempts.

Notre Dame junior Myles Phillips (9)

Courtesy of Kristi Hadsell

Phillips finished with 86 yards on 16 totes, as Cassidy chipped in 50 yards on eight tries.

Needless to say, but Coach Davis’ offensive philosophy is in stark contrast to the wing-T Titans of almost two decades.

“I was proud of the kids. They played hard and we executed a lot better in the second half. I thought we ran the football really well, and we want to be able to control the game by running the ball and pass when we need to and create high-percentage throws,” he said.

The first-year NDHS boss also talked about his Titans overcoming adversity.

“Adverse situations, they are going to come every day and every down in every game. I’ve only been here 13 weeks, so we have to build up their confidence to deal with adverse situations,” said Davis. “It was a close first half, we had to get our minds right and come out in the second half and get it done. Football is a segment of life. When you deal with adverse situations here, it should help you in your life down the line.”

Speaking of adversity, the Titans tangle with a quality Eastern Eagles squad — on Friday night inside historic Spartan Municipal Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and it will be no doubt Notre Dame’s most difficult challenge to date.

“They’re competitive, they are tough, and they are going to run the football. We have to understand we have to stop the run. Their offensive line is really good getting off the ball. We have our hands full,” said Davis. “But we’re coming and bringing everything we have.”

* * *

Notre Dame 8 14 16 8— 46

Fisher Catholic 0 14 3 0— 17

ND — Jordan Davis, 8-yard run (Bryce McGraw run), 8:45, 1st (8-0 ND)

ND — Jordan Davis, 8-yard run (Jordan Davis run), 11:58, 2nd (16-0 ND)

FC —Peyton Owens, 6-yard run (Peyton Owens kick), 10:10, 2nd (16-7 ND)

ND — Jordan Davis, 1-yard run (pass failed), :32, 2nd (22-7 ND)

FC — Hyde O’Rielley, 25-yard pass from Grant Keefer (Peyton Owens kick), :03, 2nd (22-14 ND)

FC — Peyton Owens, 33-yard field goal, 10:13, 3rd (22-17 ND)

ND — Jordan Davis, 12-yard run (Jordan Davis run), 5:38, 3rd (30-17 ND)

ND — Luke Cassidy, 78-yard pass from Ethan Kingrey (Jordan Davis run), 2:26, 3rd (38-17 ND)

ND — Myles Phillips, 4-yard run (Jordan Davis run), 6:55, 4th (46-17 ND)

Team Statistics

ND FC

First downs 33 11

Scrimmage plays 88 47

Rushes-yards 61-376 14-3

Passing yards 256 174

Total yards 632 177

Cmp-Att-Int. 17-27-0 8-33-2

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties-yards 15-153 10-72

Punts-Ave. 2-28 5-31.8

——

Individual Leaders

RUSHING —Notre Dame: Jordan Davis 26-193 4TD, Myles Phillips 16-86 TD, Luke Cassidy 8-50, Ethan Kingrey 4-9, Bryce McGraw 4-8, Brock Shepherd 3-30; Fisher Catholic: Grant Keefer 6-4, Peyton Owens 5-(-10) TD, Ethan O’Rielley 3-9

PASSING — Notre Dame: Ethan Kingrey 17-27-0-256; Fisher Catholic: Grant Keefer 5-23-1-101 TD, Peyton Owens 3-10-1-73

RECEIVING— Notre Dame: Luke Cassidy 5-141 TD, Chris Piccolo 3-41, Myles Phillips 3-28, Jordan Davis 3-6, Eugene Collins 2-17, Bryce McGraw 1-23; Fisher Catholic: Simon Messerly 3-46, Hyde O’Rielley 2-57 TD, Ethan O’Rielley 2-37, Bobby Bennett 1-34

Reach Paul Boggs at (740) 353-3101 ext. 1926, by email at [email protected], or on X @paulboggssports © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved