Class 5-A top-ranked Cathedral dominated the first half Friday night against fourth-rated Whiteland on its way to a 39-6 victory and a regional football tournament crown. The Irish offense scored 25 points on its first four possessions, while the defense limited the Warriors to just 37 yards rushing and two first downs in the opening 24 minutes.
Cathedral received the kickoff to start the game and marched 74 yards in seven plays with Cam Jordan finishing the drive, taking a shovel pass from Nathan McCahill and scoring around the left end from the one-yard line. The two duplicated the play for a successful two-point conversion. On their next possession, the Irish drove 83 yards in 12 plays, scoring on a Jake Langdon 1-yard run.
In the second quarter, following Bryce Llewellyn’s interception, McCahill connected with Jordan on a 9-yard touchdown pass. Ben Gomez added a career-long 39-yard field goal to make the score 25-0 at halftime. In doing so, Gomez tied Vincent Alerding’s school record for most field goals in a season, set in 2015, with eight.
Late in the third quarter, two plays after J. P. Koscielski’s fumble recovery, Langdon scored on a 33-yard run. Early in the final period, Tazz Garrett scored his first touchdown of the season on a 1-yard run, which triggered the Mercy rule, and a running clock, with 10:20 to play. Whiteland quarterback Brant Kunz sneaked into the end zone on a 5-yard run in the closing minute to conclude the scoring.
McCahill completed 15 of 19 passes for 200 yards and ran for 79 yards on 12 carries. Jaron Tibbs and David Perry each caught four passes for 73 and 46 yards respectively. Jordan’s two touchdown catches give him 17 for the season, which breaks the school record of 16 TD receptions previously shared by Jack Lupo (2007) and Bo Sanders (2018).
Cathedral’s defense held Whiteland well under its average of 381 yards rushing per game. The Warriors gained just 114 yards on the ground and did not complete a pass in three attempts. Whiteland’s Chase Valentine rushed for 68 yards on 18 attempts to finish the season with 1,888 yards.
The regional title is Cathedral’s 19th and first since 2017, while the victory is the 100th in Coach Bill Peebles’ 16-year career including his 11 seasons at Southport and two years at Lawrence Central. The Irish have now won all six tournament meetings with Whiteland, four in regional action and two in sectional play. The Warriors exit the tourney with a record of 9-2.
The Fighting Irish, now 11-1, will travel to Castle High School in Newburgh next Friday for the 5-A southern semi-state. The Knights have an 8-3 record after defeating Jeffersonville, 49-7, to win their regional game Friday. The two teams have only played once previously with Cathedral defeating Castle, 42-7, in week two of the 2005 season at Warren Central. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 (EST)/6:30 (CST).