HAMILTON COUNTY— On Wednesday morning, the Fishers Freight are getting ready for their first home game.
“A lot of nerves, but I think we’re bringing something special,” said Krystapher Oakley, a defensive lineman on the team.
The Freight are in their inaugural season. They played their first game on the road at Northern Indiana and came away with a win. Now, they’ll get to play in Central Indiana for the first time.
“Based off last week I’m excited to have fans on our side,” said Jiya Wright, the quarterback for the Freight.
Wright is a Fort Wayne native, so this is a chance to play in front of family and friends again.
“Throughout my journey I’ve been 12 hours, 10 hours, 16 hours from home always so being an hour and a half from home is nothing,” said Wright.
Wright isn’t the only one with ties to Indiana, Oakley is a Lawrence Central and Marian University grad.
“I have a son who he hasn’t really gotten to see me play hardly at all since college, so this is really big for the both of us honestly,” said Oakley.
Running back Jon Lewis just played two seasons at the University of Indianapolis and will graduate this semester.
“I’m still learning how fast the game is,” said Lewis.
He’s going through a crash course in playing indoor football.
“Everything is condensed, so just being able to make my reads faster, be more elusive,” said Lewis.
The rules in the IFL differ from traditional football. There are eight players on the field at a time, the field length is 50 yards, and roster sizes are smaller.
“You hardly ever go unblocked, but when you do everything is happening so fast you just have to make the plays that come to you,” said Oakley.
They’ve also had to come together as a team pretty quickly too. In just a month, they’ve had their first practice and played their first game.
“Just continuing to mesh and grow together as a family. There’s not one guy on this team that I haven’t had a great conversation with, so just growing the family, getting better every day,” said Wright.
The Freight are not only part of an IFL expansion, but a growing sports community in Fishers.
“It feels good to be a part of something like this,” said Wright.
“It’s surreal. Not many people get to play and stay in their college city. It’s a blessing honestly and I’m so thankful, said Lewis.
The Freight kick off with the Tulsa Oilers at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
