Class 5-A second-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral forced eight turnovers in a 28-0 victory over Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller at St. Xavier High School in the second game of the Cincy - Indy Football Challenge. Host St. X defeated Class 6-A second-ranked Brownsburg, 38-17, in the first game of the challenge. The Irish begin the 2019 season with consecutive wins for the first time since 2016, when they began the season with a record of 4-0.
The turnovers came early and often for both teams Saturday night as Cathedral fumbled on its first possession, only to get the ball back three plays later when Quinton Cannon recovered a Moeller fumble. Three plays after that, Irish quarterback Orin Edwards threw an interception, which was followed four plays later by another Cannon fumble recovery.
Early in the second quarter, Edwards threw a lateral pass to Nathan McCahill who then connected with a wide-open Camden Jordan for a 35-yard scoring pass to give the Irish a 7-0 lead. Following a second Edwards’ interception and a third Moeller fumble, the first half ended with the teams combining for nearly as many turnovers, six, as points, seven.
Cathedral’s David Guhl recovered a fourth Moeller fumble on the Crusaders’ first possession of the second half. After the Irish failed to convert on fourth-and-20, Cathedral’s Mario McCullough intercepted a pass and returned it to the Moeller 4-yard line. On the next play, Jordan grabbed an Edwards’ shovel pass and ran around the left end into the end zone to make the lead 14-0.
McCullough intercepted another pass on the next Moeller possession and returned it 63 yards to the Crusader 14-yard line. This time, Jordan took an Edwards’ shovel pass around the right end for a 6-yard scoring play. McCullough concluded the Irish scoring in the final quarter when he returned his third interception for a 24-yard touchdown.
In addition to forcing five fumbles and three interceptions, Cathedral’s defense limited Moeller to 104 yards of total offense and just five first downs. Edwards completed 19 of 31 passes for 182 yards. In doing so, he became the fourth Irish quarterback in school history to pass for more than 3,000 yards in a career. Cathedral’s David Perry caught eight passes for 95 yards, while Jordan grabbed five passes for 89 yards.
The last time Moeller was shutout in a regular season game was 2006. The Crusaders had scored points in 119 consecutive regular season games. Cathedral is now 4-6 all-time against Moeller. The Fighting Irish travel to Cincinnati again next Friday to play Elder. The Panthers defeated Cathedral 39-34 last season in Indianapolis. Elder won its season opener 41-6 against Gahanna Lincoln Friday night.