Indianapolis Cathedral defeated Cincinnati La Salle on the road Friday night, 35-7, in a high school football clash of highly ranked teams. The Fighting Irish are ranked first in Indiana’s Class 5-A, while the Lancers were rated fifth in Division II, which is the second largest class in Ohio.
Danny O’Neil threw three first-half touchdown passes to give the Fighting Irish a 21-0 lead at the intermission. Michael Page scored on receptions of 22 and 51 yards, while Daniel Hughes caught a 19-yard scoring pass with 1:15 remaining in the second quarter.
La Salle narrowed the margin to 21-7 on Mason Mattingly’s quarterback sneak for a touchdown late in the third quarter. The Irish answered early in the final period when O’Neil connected with Samuel Bridges for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Two plays later, Jack Goheen intercepted Mattingly and scored the first Irish defensive touchdown of the season on an 18-yard return.
O’Neil finished 23 of 38 for 347 yards. It’s the first 300-plus yard Cathedral passing performance for the sophomore. Page caught six passes for 142 yards, which is the first time in his 27-game Irish career that he eclipsed 100 receiving yards in a game. Page also became the 15th player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard career receiving mark.
Cathedral held the Lancers to just 48 yards rushing and 131 yards of total offense. This season, the Irish defense has not allowed an opposing team to gain more than 100 yards on the ground. Only one opponent has accumulated more than 200 yards of total offense against the Fighting Irish in 2021.
With the win, Cathedral improves to 7-0. La Salle’s record falls to 4-3. The Fighting Irish travel to Brebeuf Jesuit next Friday. The Class 3-A second-ranked Braves are 6-1 this season. Cathedral has won 9 of its last ten meetings with Brebeuf. Game time is 7:00.