Indianapolis Cathedral improved its record to 8-0 in high school football Friday night with a 45-21 victory at Brebeuf Jesuit. The Class 5-A top-ranked Fighting Irish will host Class 6-A number-one Center Grove next Friday at Arlington. The nationally-ranked Trojans enter the game with a 22-game winning streak that includes a 17-13 home win against the Fighting Irish last season. The two reigning state champions are a combined 43-1 since the beginning of the 2020 season.
Following a Brebeuf punt, Seth Mencer concluded Cathedral’s first possession with a 7-yard scoring run. Hudson Miller’s interception on the Braves' second possession set up Danny O’Neil’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Brennan Wooten. On the second play of the second quarter, Jaron Tibbs caught a 40-yard TD pass from O’Neil to give Cathedral a 21-0 lead.
Nolan Buckman found Max Walters behind the Irish defense for a 60-yard scoring pass to put the Braves on the board midway through the second period. Brebeuf then forced a three-and-out on the next Cathedral possession, but a Ben Gomez punt pinned the Braves at their own 1-yard line. Bryce Llewellyn intercepted Buckman two plays later at the Brebeuf 6-yard line.
On the next play, Michael Page carried an O’Neil shovel pass around the left end into the end zone for a touchdown. Gomez added a 22-yard field goal as time expired to make the halftime score 31-7. With the kick, Gomez set a new school record for most field goals in a career with 18.
Page scored from the 1-yard line on another O’Neil shovel pass in the third quarter. Buckman threw two more touchdown passes in the final quarter. In between those tosses, Cathedral’s Andrew Dittoe scored on a 5-yard run.
O’Neil was 14 of 31 for 231 yards and four touchdown passes, while Buckman completed 25 of 52 throws for 375 yards and three scores. Tibbs caught four passes for 105 yards, while Walters and Anthony Annee both had more than 100 yards receiving for the Braves.
Cathedral now leads the all-times series with Brebeuf 17-4, having won 10 of the last 11 meetings between the two schools. The Class 3-A second-ranked Braves fall to 6-2 with the loss.