Second-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead Friday night at Arlington Middle School and never looked back in defeating fifth-rated Decatur Central, 42-12, to win the Class 5A Sectional 13 championship. It is the 23rd football sectional title in school history. The Irish will travel to top-rated and defending state champion New Palestine in regional play next Friday.
Cathedral received the opening kickoff and started at its own 34-yard line. Two plays later, Nathan McCahill took a handoff on an end around, then stopped and threw a pass down the middle of the field to Michael Page, who caught it and ran 63 yards for a score to put the Irish ahead 7-0 with less than a minute played.
Cathedral’s running game was dominant throughout the game finishing with 282 rushing yards. Jake Langdon scored on an amazing 90-yard run down the visiting sideline late in the first quarter. Daylen Hall added an 80-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to increase the lead to 21-0. Orin Edwards connected with Langdon on a two-yard scoring pass late in the first half to make the margin four TDs at the intermission.
The teams then traded touchdowns in the second half. Hall scored on a 15-yard run and Edwards threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Jordan Thomas for the Irish, while Decatur Central’s Kenny Tracy caught an 11-yard touchdown pass and scored again on a 15-yard run.
Both Langdon and Hall rushed for more than 100 yards in the game, finishing with 142 and 129 yards respectively. It’s the second time this season Cathedral has had two players run for 100 or more yards in a game with Hall (117 yards) and Edwards (112 yards) doing so at Cincinnati St. Xavier. The Irish defense held the Hawks to just 30 yards rushing, 192 yards below their season average.
The Fighting Irish improve their record to 9-2, while Decatur Central finishes the season with a 9-3 mark. In Sectional 14, New Palestine eliminated Franklin, 49-14, to set up next week’s regional matchup between the top two rated teams in the Class 5-A Indiana Football Coaches Association poll.
The Dragons are 11-0, having won 25 straight going back to last season’s undefeated state title run. Next Friday’s game will be the third meeting between the two schools. Cathedral defeated New Pal, 45-6, in a Class 4A Regional game in 2009, while the Dragons eliminated the Irish from the tournament with a 29-28 overtime victory in a Class 3A regional contest in 1987.