Cathedral won its 34th consecutive high school football sectional game Friday night when it defeated Plainfield 51-14 in a first round tournament matchup at Southport High School. The offense rolled up 463 total yards and the defense forced three turnovers as the Fighting Irish ended a two-game losing streak to improve their record to 5-and-5 on the season.
Cathedral quarterback Orin Edwards connected with receiver Bo Sanders on a 40-yard scoring pass nearly seven minutes into the game to get the Irish offense going. Plainfield tied the score 7-7 on its next possession when freshman quarterback Cael Vanderbush completed a 74-yard touchdown pass to Derek Keller.
Cathedral running back Chon’Dre Cissell ran 60 yards for a score on the next play to put the Irish on top 14-7 with 3:42 remaining in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Edwards added a ten-yard touchdown pass to Sanders and a five-yard scoring aerial to tight end Haven Montefalco, giving the Irish a 28-7 halftime lead.
Cathedral put the game away in the third quarter when Edwards threw a 74-yard TD pass to Sanders just 90 seconds into the period. Irish cornerback Quinton Cannon then scooped up a fumble and returned it 36 yards a touchdown. Fullback Luke Adams rumbled 10 yards for another Cathedral score. Christian Alerding’s 25-yard field goal concluded Cathedral’s 23-point offensive barrage in less than eight minutes.
Edwards was efficient in completing 12 of 16 passes for 232 yards. Sanders had nine receptions for 184 yards. Cissell ran for 171 yards on 16 carries. In doing so, he passed the 2,500-yard career rushing mark and moved into eighth place on the school’s all-time list for most rushing yards.
Cathedral advances to play Roncalli at Arsenal Tech next Friday in a Class 5-A sectional semifinal game. The Rebels drew a first round bye in the tournament after concluding the regular season with a 3-6 record. The Irish eliminated the Rebels from the 2017 tournament, 28-23, in the semi-final round. Cathedral has won its last 11 games against Roncalli. The Irish are 10-7 all-time against the Rebels in tournament play.