Records fall as state football champions are crowned

INDIANAPOLIS - Records crumbled this weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium as five new football state champions were crowned in downtown Indianapolis. While Cardinal Ritter kicked off the 36th Annual Indiana High School Athletic Association Football State Finals by dethroning the Sheridan Blackhawks, 34-27, in the Class A title game; it was Class 5A Center Grove's perseverance that made history behind a 22-point fourth-quarter rally. Overcoming a 19-point deficit to set a new state finals record, Center Grove captured its first state football title by recovering two on-side kicks and scoring three touchdowns in the game's final six minutes to beat Carmel 36-33. "Our on-sides usually aren't that great, but they bounced right," Center Grove senior placekicker Michael Wood said. "People were where they needed to be. It just clicked." Before Center Grove's improbable comeback, Carmel led 33-14 with quarterback Morgan Newton passing for a touchdown and rushing for two more with his longest run measured at 54 yards for the defending champs. In the game's three final scoring plays, however, Trojans' quarterback Jordan Luallen grabbed the spotlight. The senior rushed for a touchdown and connected with Wood to cut the margin to five. Luallen later rifled a pass for a two-point conversion to an outstretched Luke Swift, who beforehand scored the go-ahead touchdown on a five-yard run in front of a frenzied crowd that mushroomed well beyond the stadium's lower bowl. Amidst it all, a new state finals mark for attendance was set with 56,050 recorded high school football fans passing through the turnstiles. "We overcame adversity big-time," Luallen said. "We just never lost hope. We just went out there and played as hard we could," added Swift, who was named the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award winner. "The crowd gave us unbelievable support. It's like one giant family. They've supported us all the way." ******** The defense shouldered the load for Cathedral as the Fighting Irish knocked off its second consecutive undefeated opponent to win the Class 4A state title over Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger 10-7. "We play for each other. We love each other, and we know each other like the back of our hands," Cathedral senior linebacker Kakpindi Jamiru said. "We've been together for four years. Our defense is really assimilated. We trust each other, and basically that's what it is trust your partner and do what you have to do." Against Dwenger, Cathedral's defense stayed true to their word. The Irish limited the Saints to 179 yards of total offense and logged two interceptions. In the weeks prior, Dwenger had averaged 34.9 points per game and defeated consecutive undefeated teams as well. But a blocked 41-yard field goal attempt with 3:16 left in the game by Cathedral's Allen Richardson echoed the tone, and the state's winningest program's desire to claim state title No. 7. "We take so much pride in our defense," Cathedral junior defensive back Jake Zupancic said. "It's a great end to a great season." ******** For Class 2A Heritage Christian, its, 17-14, win over Cass for the state title, marked the end of a journey that began last November. "The feeling of losing a state championship is horrible," Heritage Christian senior Tommy Eggleston remarked on the Eagles' 21-6 loss in the state finals to Fort Wayne Luers in 2007. "It definitely fuels you to work twice as hard as you did the year before." Head coach Ron Qualls called it, "Alpha-Omega. Beginning and end." "A lot of teams don't get the chance to comeback back-to-back," Heritage Christian junior quarterback Jackson Kirtley remarked. "This season was like nothing else." The win marked a new single-season record for the Eagles and the program's first state title. Kirtley passed for two touchdowns to push his season total to 46, and junior placekicker Alex Butterworth kicked a 36-yard field goal to put Heritage Christian up 3-0. From there the Eagles never trailed. "That loss last year made us hungrier," Heritage Christian senior wide receiver Morgan Cook said. "We weren't going to lose this game no matter what happened." ******** The question for Cardinal Ritter centered on, "how much?" As in, how much is enough. Victims at the hands of Sheridan in two previous state meetings, the Raiders went on the offense, dethroning the defending champion Blackhawks, 34-27. Junior quarterback Ross Hendrickson passed for 423 yards and three touchdowns, and senior wide receiver Tyrone Walker hauled in 11 catches for 183 yards and a score. Both totals established new records for a Class A state title game and flirted with the overall state championship record marks. "All week we preached, execution," Walker said. "The last game at semistate against Linton-Stockton, we had to score 22 points in the fourth quarter to comeback and win. We just took the same mentality even when we were up by 16." Walker's one-handed receiving touchdown nearly two minutes into the first quarter set off a 47-point first half. Both teams combined for 44 first downs and 899 yards of total offense. Senior running back Ty Perkins' 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter helped Sheridan deadlock the game at 27. But Ritter responded with a 4:32 drive that covered 75 yards after a Blackhawk fumble to go-ahead for good 34-27 with 40 seconds remaining. Sheridan senior Nick Zachary rushed for 214 yards and scored on a 23-yard reception from Perkins for 262 all-purpose yards. Sheridan's Brent Hume was named the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award winner. Walker finished with 268 all-purpose years, and Ritter finished the season a perfect 15-0 while also preventing Sheridan from tying Warren Central (2003-06) for most consecutive state titles. "You can't go 16-0 without being a close-knit group," Hendrickson said. "Everybody played as one unit, and it showed. We're state champs. It feels great."