What we learned: Mishawaka football looks the part in win over crosstown-rival Marian

MISHAWAKA — The final six minutes of their opening half Friday night was textbook Mishawaka football.

The Cavemen turned a close game into a comfortable lead at that point en route to running away from Marian 44-12 in the high school football openers for each at Steele Stadium.

The Cavemen scored 10 key points in the final stretch of the opening half to turn a one-possession lead into a commanding 30-12 halftime advantage.

"I was proud of how we handled that last six minutes of the first half," noted Mishawaka coach Keith Kinder. "That was huge to score those 10 points there and turn a one score game into a three-score game going into halftime."

More: Your complete guide to South Bend-area high school football teams for the 2023 season

Mishawaka first drove 61 yards on nine running plays to score in 5:46 as Novell Miller bulled in from two yards out to make it 27-12. The Cavemen then got an interception with just 32 seconds to play by Xavier Juarez. Lucas Larson then made a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to make it 30-12.

"Our offense was efficient tonight," noted Kinder, whose team beat Marian 38-0 last season. "We did not have too many bad downs. And No. 2 (Miller) just moves piles and that helps a lot."

Miller tallied three touchdown runs and savvy veteran senior quarterback Brady Fisher two to pace the Cavemen ground game. Fisher finished with 98 yards on 11 carries and Miller added 68 yards on 14 totes.

"Brady is just such a calming influence," Kinder remarked. "He does what a veteran does back there."

Marian showed signs or promise offensively, but hurt itself with three turnovers, while Mishawaka had no miscues. Junior Brian Osman led the Knights with 15 rushes for 92 yards with one touchdown.

Turning point of the game

Ethan Bryce made sure the Cavemen started strong in this one. The senior took the opening kickoff and raced 82 yards to put his team up 6-0 just 13 seconds into the contest.

What they said

"We're not into moral victories, but we saw some things where we are progressing and some stuff to build on." — Marian coach Mike Davidson, whose team slipped to 2-8 last year after three straight double digit win seasons and a trio of trips to the Class 3A semistate game.

"We moved the ball well. We just did not finish. You can't have the turnovers like we did against a good team like that one. The 10 points we gave up at the end of the first half made it tough to try and rebound from."

Mishawaka 44, Marian 12

At Steele Stadium, Mishawaka

FIRST QUARTER

MISH: Ethan Bryce 82 yard kickoff return (kick failed)

MARIAN: Brian Osman 5 yard run (kick failed)

MISH: Brady Fisher 9 yard run (Lucas Larson kick)

SECOND QUARTER

MISH: Fisher 3 yard run (Larson kick)

MARIAN: Braxton Brooks 15 yard pass from Bryce LeSane (kick failed)

MISH: Novell Miller 2 yard run (Larson kick)

MISH: Larson 37 yard field goal

THIRD QUARTER

MISH: Miller 8 yard run (Larson kick)

FOURTH QUARTER

MISH: Miller 3 yard run (Larson kick)

Up next for Marian and Mishawaka

Mishawaka (1-0) plays at Penn (1-0) and Marian (0-1) hosts Culver Academy (1-0) next Friday night. Penn defeated Valparaiso 38-21 and Culver Academy beat Adams 21-14 in openers.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA football: Mishawaka defeats Marian in Indiana Week 1 action