Center Grove scored on the second play from scrimmage, and never trailed Friday night, in defeating Cathedral 34-7 in the high school football regular season finale for both schools. The Irish accumulated more first downs and more total yards on offense than the Trojans, but struggled to finish drives and score points.
Center Grove tight end Cam Petty caught touchdown passes of 65 and 54 yards, the latter on a fake punt, to give the Trojans a 13-0 first quarter lead. Sophomore running back Carson Steele then scored on runs of 42, four, and 29 yards to build the Center Grove lead to 34-0 in the 3rd quarter. Cathedral senior running back Chon’Dre Cissel scored on a three-yard run in the final quarter to avoid the shutout.
Irish quarterback Orin Edwards completed 16 of 32 passes for 190 yards, but did not throw a touchdown pass in only his second game this season. Senior Bo Sanders caught seven passes for 84 yards. Sanders now has 63 catches this year, which is the third most receptions in a season in school history. Cissell gained 90 yards on 18 carries. Steele led Center Grove with 131 yards rushing on 18 attempts.
The host Trojans have now won four consecutive games to improve their record to 6-3, while the Irish have lost their last two outings to fall to 4-5 on the season. Center Grove now leads the all-time series between the two schools four games to three.
Cathedral will open the 46th annual Indiana High School Athletic Association football state tournament next Friday at Southport high school against Plainfield in Class 5-A Sectional 13. The Quakers enter the tournament with a 4-5 record having lost at Martinsville 34-14 in their final regular season game.
The Irish are 6-1 all-time against Plainfield in tournament play with the lone loss coming in 2000, which was the year the Quakers won their only football sectional championship. Cathedral enters the tournament with a 33-game sectional winning streak resulting in 12 consecutive sectional football titles.