ELMIRA – In the opening week of the first ever Section IV eight-man playoff season, the Elmira Notre Dame Crusaders ended the Oxford Blackhawks’ chances of moving on, winning 54-28 Friday night.
Kyreese Fisher of the Crusaders accounted for 250 yards of offense and scored three touchdowns to lead Notre Damn to the win. He carried 12 times for 128 yards and a touchdown, caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, and completed one pass for 20 yards while adding a 50-yard interception return and seven tackles.
The opening 12 minutes saw Fisher’s first score after a 24 yard run to the end zone, giving the Crusaders a 6-0 lead. On Elmira’s next drive, quarterback Erik Charnetski called his own number from two yards away. Fisher completed the two-point conversion pass to put eight points on the board.
Oxford’s Xavier Cruz, who carried the ball for over 300 yards and five touchdowns in his previous outing, took off down field for a 40 yard dash to cut the lead down to eight points before the first quarter concluded.
In the second, Elmira Notre Dame tacked on another three touchdowns: two rushing scores from Charnetski and one from his arm through the air to Fisher for 16 yards.
The Blackhawks’ Brady Smith scored the lone TD of the stanza from two yards away, putting 12 on the scoreboard for Oxford in the first half. In the third quarter, however, the visiting team was held scoreless.
The Crusaders started the second half with 18 unanswered points as running backs Isaiah McKay scored a six yard touchdown and teammate Luke Viera punched the ball into the end zone from four yards out. The final score of the third for Notre Dame came on Fisher’s 50 yard pick-six.
Oxford closed the game out by shutting down the Elmira offense, allowing zero points to be scored by the host team while scoring two touchdowns of their own.
Both of the Blackhawks’ scores in the final 12 minutes were for long yardage as CJ Smith ran 44 yards down field for the first touchdown while Paul Baker bolted 50 yards for the last six points scored in the contest. Both scores also saw the ball cross the goal line for two-point conversions, giving Oxford 16 points for the quarter.
Cruz finished the game, the last of his high school career, with 15 carries for 95 yards and his first quarter touchdown. The rest of the Blackhawks ended the day with 98 yards on 10 attempts.
Fisher’s teammate Isaiah McKay racked up 101 yards while taking nine hand-offs from quarterback Charnetski. Charnetski ended the day with 125 yards through the air and went 7-for-10 in completions.
Elmira Notre Dame moves on to face Lansing for the Section IV eight-man championship while Oxford ends their season with a record of 3-3.
Elmira Notre Dame 54, Oxford 28
Oxford 6 6 0 16 – 28
Notre Dame 14 22 18 0 – 54
First quarter
END – Kyreese Fisher 24 run (run failed).
