HS football: Cathedral dominates Fishers at Victory Field

As the first player to score a touchdown at Victory Field, Markese Stepp will be the answer to a trivia question. But the Cathedral sophomore is well on his way to making a name for himself in more ways than one.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Stepp rushed for 268 yards and three touchdowns as Class 6A fourth-ranked Cathedral defeated No. 9 Fishers 35-6 in the inaugural Gridiron Classic on Friday night at the home of the Indianapolis Indians.

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Stepp ran off the right side for a 25-yard score in the first quarter for the game’s first touchdown. Stepp’s momentum carried him right down the dugout stairs on the first-base side.

“That (infield) dirt was a little different,” said Stepp, who already has a scholarship offer from Indiana and interest from many other major programs. “When I first came out, it almost looked like the field was diagonal. But once you get used to it, it’s not that much different.”

It was the first of two high school games to be played at Victory Field this season. Hamilton Southeastern and Brownsburg will meet in the regular-season finale Oct. 16.

With the temperature dipping into the 50s and a stiff north wind, it felt like football weather despite the baseball backdrop. The field was configured with the north end zone deep in left field and the south end zone along the first-base line. Fans from Fishers sat along the third-base side and the student section on the berm beyond the left-field fence.

Cathedral’s sideline was in right-center field and its fans were along the first-base side.

“It’s really big,” Cathedral coach Rick Streiff said of the Victory Field setting. “You feel like you’re out in the middle of a big cornfield or something playing ball.”

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Cathedral (5-2) jumped out to a 14-0 lead, scoring touchdowns on its first two drives. Stepp waltzed through a gaping hole on his second score, an 8-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left in the first quarter.

“The O-line has a lot of experience,” Stepp said. “Those guys open the holes up front and I just have to get the job done after that.”

Fishers (4-3) regrouped and cut it to 14-6 at halftime on field goals of 22 and 42 yards by Ben Norton in the second quarter. The Tigers’ defense controlled the second quarter, holding the Irish to just a single first down. But Fishers missed a couple opportunities to make a bigger dent in the Cathedral lead, including settling for a field goal after a 43-yard pass from Zach Eaton to Will Syrus put the Tigers inside the Irish 5-yard-line.

“The second quarter, we felt like we owned the line of scrimmage and did a good job,” Fishers coach Rick Wimmer said. “We kind of settled down and played really well defensively. But they just kind of wore us down and we’re struggling offensively right now.”

Fishers, playing without two injured starters on the offensive line, struggled to sustain drives after halftime as it began to rain. Cathedral scored on its first drive after the break, relying heavily on Stepp. The sophomore carried 16 yards up the middle on fourth-and-3 before quarterback Max Bortenschlager plunged in for a 1-yard run to make it 21-3.

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Fishers pinned Cathedral at its 1 after a 61-yard punt by Taylor Soper bounced off the infield dirt around first base and out of bounds. But four plays later, Stepp burst through a hole and went 88 yards for yet another touchdown. That carry, his 19th of 23 on the night, showed the combination of power and speed that has university teams like Notre Dame and Ohio State intrigued.

“He was outstanding,” Streiff said. “The offensive line did a great job getting off blocks and putting him in position and then he really runs the ball very hard. He’s got some wheels and physically he’s very talented. He starting to figure it out. He’s still a pup but he does some pretty good things.”

Evan Christopher tacked on the last score late in the third quarter with a 35-yard run to make it 35-6. Cathedral finished with 419 yards of total offense to just 197 for Fishers.

Despite the loss, Wimmer said he enjoyed the experience of having his team play at Victory Field.

“It was a great atmosphere,” Wimmer said. “They put on a great event here and it was exciting for our kids. It’s a great facility.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Follow him on Twitter: @KyleNeddenriep.