Player of the Week Stat Leaders

Player of the Week:

Ian Fisher certainly didn't look like a Player of the Week candidate early on in last week's regional finals game against Western Tech. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Brunswick quarterback threw two interceptions in the first quarter, both of which were returned for touchdowns. Western Tech jumped out to a 22-10 lead and the Railroaders were reeling.

"That was two touchdowns that were completely my fault," Fisher said. "But I told myself that I was not going to be the reason we lost this game -- we'd come too far. I stayed confident and I came back strong."

Indeed he did. Fisher, the state's leading passer, found his groove in the second quarter and led Brunswick to a 36-22 victory.

By the time Fisher was finished, his numbers surpassed every other quarterback in the state last week. He completed 12 of 24 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns and added in over 50 rushing yards and another score.

"Considering how poorly I played early," Fisher said, "it was an awesome comeback."

Fisher indirectly credited Western Tech's defense with helping him out. Brunswick runs a spread offense, and opponents that have defended it well have deployed two-deep zones. They prefer to let Fisher have the short stuff while cutting off the big plays. But Western Tech bucked the trend, gambling with press coverage the entire game.

"They played a straight man coverage and our receivers were one-on-one the whole game," Fisher said. "Once I figured it out, we took advantage of it. We thought [Western Tech] would adjust after awhile, but they didn't. I just picked them apart. They didn't stand a chance."

Fisher's first touchdown pass actually came before his initial meltdown. Receiver Jake Struss ran an out-route, but Fisher's pass went to his inside shoulder and was almost picked off. But the throw had enough mustard on it to split the defense.

"Somehow Jake came up with it," Fisher said. "He broke two tackles and ran 53 yards to the end zone."

The two interceptions followed, putting Brunswick at a 12-point disadvantage at the end of the first quarter. But Fisher cut into that deficit midway though the second period when he hit Blaine Price for a 28-yard touchdown, drawing the Roaders to within six, 22-16.

"It was a corner route, but I rolled out and he broke off the route and came back to the ball," Fisher said. "I threw it to him and he made a great catch between two defenders."

Fisher's third touchdown pass tied the game. His No. 1 receiver, Tyrus Lawson, had man coverage on the outside. He beat the cornerback off the line, raced downfield and Fisher found him for a 51-yard scoring strike.

"Instead of being down at half we were tied at 22 and we got the ball back at the start of the second half," Fisher said. "That was huge."

The Roaders rode (pun intended) that momentum right into the third quarter. On their opening drive Fisher connected on a 30-yard bomb, taking the ball inside the Western Tech 10-yard line. Then he tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Shankle, giving Brunswick their first lead of the game. They would never relinquish it.

"That was the dagger," Fisher said. "We were ahead and [Western Tech] didn't know what to do -- they didn't know how to come back. We closed it out from there."

With Fisher on fire, Western Tech finally changed up their defenses. They started double teaming the receivers, shifting the safeties out wide and moving the linebackers over to cover the slot receivers. But that left the middle of the field vacated.

Fisher's eyes grew wide. For a 6-6 guy, Fisher is fairly fleet of foot, so he took off running. He picked up 26 yards, 28 yards and finally capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run, increasing the lead to 36-22.

"I just gashed them up the gut on the same three plays," Fisher said. "The middle was completely uncovered."

Fisher's fifth touchdown ended any chance Western Tech had of a comeback. Brunswick cruised through the final few minutes, enjoying the victory before they start preparing for Havre de Grace in the state semifinals next week.

"We played our hearts out tonight," Fisher said. "We got the win, and we want to keep going."

Top Performers:

Zach Dancel, QB, Good Counsel: 236 total yards, 4 TDs

Stefon Diggs, WR, Good Counsel: 6 receptions, 127 yards, 3 TDs

Ian Fisher, QB, Brunswick: 265 yards, 4 TDs; rushing TD

Connor Frazier, QB, Damascus: 216 passing yards, 2 TDs; 85 rushing yards

Drew Murphy, QB, Quince Orchard: 140 yards, TD

Tyler Patton, WR, Damascus: 5 receptions, 95 yards

AJ Pignone, QB, Sherwood: 108 yards, 2 TDs; 140 rushing yards, TD

Zach Fetters, QB, Gaithersburg: 193 yards, 2 TDs; 91 rushing yards

Sylvester Oni, WR, Gaithersburg: 5 receptions, 120 yards, 2 TDs

Sam Michels, RB, Middletown: 107 yards, TD

Ben Lewis, WR, Middletown: 2 receptions, 100 yards, TD

Michael Pritts, QB, Middletown: 130 yards, TD

Andrew Bose, RB, Huntingtown: 165 yards, 4 TDs

Joey Clark, RB, Queen Anne's: 114 yards, TD

Grant Kelly, QB, Fallston: 175 yards, 2 TDs; rushing TD

Khalil Viera, RB, Wilde Lake: 103 yards

Mike Kelly, RB, Havre de Grace: 209 yards, 4 TDs

Darin Washington, QB, Havre de Grace: 134 yards, TD; 34 yards rushing

Kyle Thompson, RB, Bohemia Manor: over 100 yards, 3 TDs

Blake Gatewood, RB, Urbana: 113 yards, 3 TDs

Wes Garey, RB, Urbana: 100 yards, TD

Mark Venable, RB, Franklin: 143 yards

Joey Dorsey, QB, Franklin: 109 yards; 4 TD runs

Devante Gray, TE, McDonough: 3 receptions, 124 yards, TD

Aquil Michaux, QB, McDonough: 190 yards, TD; 41 rushing yards, TD

Grant Harris, RB, Broadneck: 125 yards

James Mullis, QB, Broadneck: 155 yards passing, 2 TDs; 81 yards rushing, TD

Nick Rosati, QB, Arundel: 290 yards, 2 TDs

Tyler Washington, WR, Arundel: 5 receptions, 117 yards, TD

Garrett Clay, RB, Fort Hill: 126 yards, TD; receiving TD

Dylan Clay, RB, Fort Hill: 116 yards

KK Smith, RB, Spalding: 103 yards, TD

Uriah Bethea, RB, Wise: 142 yards, 2 TDs

Kevin Estep, QB, Dunbar: over 100 yards, TD

Lavar Highsmith, RB, Dunbar: over 100 total yards, TD

Christian DiPaola, QB, Maryland Christian: 9 touchdown passes in two games

Jed Yousefi, WR, Maryland Christian: 7 touchdown receptions in two games