Top-rated and defending Class 5-A football state champion New Palestine scored 28 unanswered points in less than eight minutes in the second half Friday night to eliminate second-ranked Cathedral, 35-10, in the tournament's regional round. The win was the 26th consecutive for the Dragons who are now 12-0 this season. The Fighting Irish end their year with a record of 9-3.
New Pal received the opening kickoff and started at its own 35-yard line. Six running plays later, all by the state’s all-time leading rusher Charlie Spegal, the Dragoons scored from the 2-yard line to lead 7-0. Cathedral answered with a 12-play, 61-yard drive that ended with Christian Alerding kicking a 20-yard field goal.
The Fighting Irish took the lead, 10-7, when Orin Edwards rushed for a 5-yard score early in the second quarter. Cathedral maintained the 3-point lead at the intermission, limiting Spegal to 94 yards rushing in the first half and only 29 yards after the opening drive.
However, Spegal would get going in the second half, scoring on a 50-yard run to put New Palestine ahead with 2:51 to play in the third quarter. He added scoring runs of one yard and 64 yards on the Dragons’ next two possessions to make the score 28-10 with less than eight minutes remaining in the game. Toledo recruit Maxen Hook returned an Edwards’ interception 32-yards for a score to put the game away with 7:35 to play.
Spegal finished with 284 yards on 30 carries to push his state record for career rushing yards to 10,429. His four rushing touchdowns make his total 72 for the season, which sets the national records for total touchdowns in a year and rushing TDs in a season according to the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS).
Cathedral’s Daylen Hall ran for 63 yards on 12 carries to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his senior season. Edwards completed 17 of 36 passes for 146 yards. He finishes his 28-game career as the Irish school record holder for most passing attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns.
The loss is just the fifth in Cathedral history in the tournament's regional round with two of those defeats coming against New Palestine. The nine wins this year gives the Irish 734 victories in 101 seasons, 26 more than Evansville Reitz, for the most wins in Indiana high school football history.
Cathedral will tentatively open the 2020 season on August 21 at Westfield.