As he geared up for the big game against Aurora, Scott Fischer was excited and nervous.

It was fall of 1991, and he was a freshman defensive end on the Bison football team. Fischer would be starting that game, and this was his opportunity to prove himself. 

Beachwood ended up winning that game and went on to win the MAC-8 championship that season. 

Fischer was hooked.

He went on to play football all four years at BHS and was selected First Team All-Ohio before graduating in 1995.

“I loved my experience here at Beachwood,” he said. “I learned a lot from all my teachers and coaches over the years.”

He went on to play football at Hiram College

After college, Fischer coached for St. Peter Chanel, Maple Heights, Garfield Heights and Independence as well as serving as offensive coordinator for the Bison from 2009-12. 

In 2017 he returned to Beachwood to coach with Damion Creel until 2020. 

More than thirty years after he put on the Bison uniform, Fischer now closes out his first season as head coach of the Bison football team, and he feels good about returning to Beachwood.

Although this year’s season didn’t have the win-loss record he may have hoped for, Fischer felt a lot of energy. 

“It’s a long process, but it was a positive season,” he said. “There was so much support from everyone in the community, and it was nice to see during home games.” 

Senior Jaymon Caldwell appreciated how Fischer always remained positive. 

“There really was never a moment where Coach was negative,” he said. “He always kept us going.” 

Fischer thinks that everyone can improve and grow, and it’s essential to learn. 

“It’s not about screaming and yelling, it’s about learning and teaching,” he said. “I can always learn more and pick stuff up from the players.”

Fischer has coached some very successful teams.

“I was at Chanel my first year coaching, and we won state champs in 2001,” he said. “I also went to the state semifinals at Maple Heights in 2002-2003.” 

Fischer is proud of everyone’s perseverance and hard work throughout this season regardless of the win-loss record. 

“[I’m] proud of the no-quit [attitude] in the kids, even when things were really ugly, they always fought back,” he said. “Determination was huge for us this season.”

The first game of the season against Orange stuck out to Coach Fischer. 

“Everyone was doubting us and saying we were going to lose and that we were a joke, and we ended up beating them 43-8, which was incredible,” he said.

Injuries had a big impact as the season progressed.

“Having some of our best players injured really got the best of us at times,” he said.

Fischer was grateful for this learning process this season.

“I didn’t really have any regrets,” he said. “It was hard not having a full off season but we fought hard and gave it our all.” 

Moving forward, Fischer hopes to improve as a coach, team and program and take advantage of the off-season. 

“I want to make sure we have the right people in place for this program and make sure everyone is accountable from coaches, to players, to parents, to fans,” he said. “I’m excited to have a full off-season.” 

Given Coach Fischer’s proven passion and long involvement with Beachwood football, Athletic Director Ryan Peters didn’t have a difficult time offering him the job. 

“Fischer has been a mainstay in Beachwood for a long time and has been here with successful programs,” Peters said. “He has always been very committed to Beachwood High School and to football.”

Peters recognized that the players respect Coach Fischer as well. 

“A lot of the kids really liked him and his leadership style”, he said. “Atheletes appreciated the care he gave to players.” 

Caldwell respects Coach Fischer’s dedication to the team as a whole as well as individual players. 

“Coach did a nice job trying to connect with us one on one,” he said. 

Caldwell was also grateful for Fischer keeping them in check throughout the season. 

“He always made sure everyone was doing what they needed to be doing,” he said. 

Peters appreciates Coach Fischer’s focus on the long term.

“Fischer is very committed to building a long lasting program, from the ground up,” he said. “He runs camps and programs so he gets an exposure to the kids and families early on.”