Class 6A third-ranked Cathedral scored eight first-half touchdowns in a 56-0 high school football victory at Hammond Morton Friday night. The Fighting Irish defense kept the Governors from gaining a first down until the third quarter in a contest that was played with a running clock in the second half.
On their first possession, the Irish drove 73 yards in just four plays, finishing on Danny O’Neil’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Zach Meeks. O’Neil and Carson Johnson both scored on 1-yard runs to give Cathedral a 21-0 lead late in the first quarter.
In the 35-point second quarter, O’Neil completed touchdown passes of 5 yards to Brennan Wooten and 11 yards to Jaron Tibbs. Johnson added a 41-yard TD run before Devaughn Slaughter tossed a 26-yard scoring pass to Sammy Bridges and Colin Ayers scored on a 1-yard run.
Under the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s Mercy Rule, once the point differential between the two teams reaches 35 points in the second half, the game clock is required to become a running clock.
Cathedral compiled 356 total yards on offense. Johnson rushed for 155 yards on 12 attempts, while O’Neil completed 9 of 14 passes for 109 yards.
Cathedral’s defense limited Hammond Morton to just 50 yards of total offense and four first downs. The Governors were forced to punt on 10 of their 13 possessions. Only one Morton drive lasted more than three plays and seven of their possessions resulted in negative yardage.
Cathedral improved its record to 4-1, while Morton fell to 0-6. After five straight road games, the Irish will host Cincinnati La Salle next Friday at Arlington Middle School. The Lancers have lost their last four games after beginning the season with two victories. The Irish are 5-0 all-time against La Salle.