Ian Fisher insists the local paper had it wrong. A day after setting a new career high in passing yards and touchdown passes, the big 6-foot-6 Brunswick quarterback opened up a copy of the Frederick News Post and read that he completed 26 passes for 399 yards and five total touchdowns in a 67-14 Roaders win over North Carroll.
But Fisher had already broken down the game film with his coach Pat Foster. Turns out the FNP sold him short by about 39 yards and two completions.
"Yeah, it was just a little off," said Fisher, chuckling. "I mean, 399 is good, but I actually completed 28 of 40 passes and threw for 438 yards."
Either way, it wasn't a bad night for the senior Fisher, who committed to James Madison in the offseason. The 438 yards were a career high and set a new MVAL record, eclipsing the previous mark of 397 set by Westminster's Kevin Clancy in 2007.
"It was just a special night - one of those games where everything came together and we could do whatever we wanted offensively," said Fisher, who is coming off a 3,000-yard season. "My receivers and I were just clicking. Everyone was on the same page."
The game was especially satisfying for Fisher, who struggled two weeks ago in a loss to Middletown. Fisher threw nine interceptions all of last season, but he had five against the Knights alone. Needless to say, he and his teammates wanted to send a message this week.
"Last week really, really hurt," Fisher said. "All week long we couldn't wait to get back on the field and get our offense going again. So we came into this game on a mission. And to be able to bounce back like we did, that just did a ton for our confidence as a whole."
Although no one predicted Fisher would eclipse 400 yards, the stage was certainly set for a standout performance. While breaking down film during the week, the quarterback and his teammates noticed certain tendencies in the North Carroll defense. The Roaders believed their wide-open spread attack featuring four- and five-receiver sets would eat up a North Carroll secondary that didn't have the personnel to defend all the weapons.
"It was a pick your poison kind of deal - there was no way [North Carroll] was going to be able to defend everybody," said Fisher, who spread the ball around to seven different receivers. "They tried to cover Jake [Struss] in the first half, so I went to Blaine [Pierce]. Then in the second half they doubled Blaine, so I went to Jake. They couldn't do anything about it."
The one thing North Carroll's defense did do was take away the running game. The normally fleet-footed Fisher only picked up 50 yards (and two touchdowns) on the ground.
"North Carroll opted to take away the run and give us the pass," said Fisher, who, along with his 50 rushing yards, had 488 total yards. "That was fine by me. It worked out OK (laughs)."
Most of Fisher's completions were of the short to intermediate variety, but he had a few downfield bombs as well. His favorite play came right before halftime after he had thrown three straight incompletions. On fourth down from his own 40, Fisher, who doubles as the punter, dropped back to kick the ball away. But instead of sending it downfield with his foot, Fisher opted to use his arm.
"I faked the punt and threw it right up the middle between three dudes and hit my guy in stride," Fisher said. "Sixty-five yards - touchdown."
The rest of the game followed a similar pattern with Fisher, Struss, Price, Tyler Dabbs, Nate Coates and the rest of the Roaders putting on an aerial display that resembled the Greatest Show on Turf.
But after the game, amid the praise and accolades, Fisher inevitably heard from the cynics and critics. After all, they said, it was only a class 1A game against North Carroll.
"Well, if it was just a little 1A game and it was so easy to put up yards, why has this never happened before? Why hasn't anyone ever thrown for 400 yards in county and MVAL history?" Fisher said. "It's just an exciting accomplishment, and it shows what this offense is capable of."
So what exactly is the potential of the Brunswick offense? Is 500 passing yards possible?
"You now, when I was watching the film I noticed some mistakes I made," Fisher said. "So if I can correct those little things I think we can put up even more yards. With how our offense is designed and the amount of stress we put on the passing game, don't be surprised if there are more games like this."
Stephen Stewart, RB, Leonardtown: 154 yards, 2 TDs
Anthony Squire, RB, Suitland: 149 yards, 2 TDs
Taivon Jacobs, WR, Suitland: over 120 total yards, 2 TDs
Nyema Washington, QB, Suitland: 143 yards, TD
Sterling Parks, RB, Riverdale Baptist: 216 total yards, 2 TDs
Allen Cross, RB, Long Reach: 150 yards, 3 TDs
*Note: It is possible, with hundreds and hundreds of names flying across the wire, that some offensive standout was overlooked. Also, defensive statistics are not included since a) some teams do not keep them and b) they aren't always reliable.