Cathedral has huge third quarter vs. Plainfield for 5A regional title

Cathedral ran past Plainfield by a lopsided 45-14 to take home a regional title on Friday, Nov. 13 to advance to the 5A state semifinals.

In the third quarter, the game flipped, with Cathedral (9-3) outscoring Plainfield (9-3), 28-0. The Irish can credit their run game, with senior running back Xavier Dangerfield leading the way with 209 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown.

"We knew they would be a tough team and it would be close," said senior wide receiver Evan Johnson, who led the Irish with 107 receiving yards on eight receptions and he scored two touchdowns. "We knew we had to come out firing and doing our jobs on both sides of the ball. We knew scoring before halftime, even if it was just a field goal, was huge knowing we were going to get the ball back. After halftime, we were able to score right away and that set us up for our huge third quarter, carrying into the win."

Cathedral led, 17-14, at halftime.

"We told them they needed to do their jobs. It is as simple as that," Cathedral coach Bill Peebles said. "We were not filling the right gaps, we were giving them some easy runs, and they were executing really well in the passing game by completing short passes and breaking tackles. So, it was not about being 'rah rah,' it was just about doing your job, fundamentals, and being focused on what the coaches are telling you to do."

Cathedral was worried about coming out flat after a close win against New Palestine, 24-21, last week in the sectional championship.

"We were worried about being a little flat [on offense] after having a little bit of a letdown after the big sectional win over New Pal," Peebles said. "I do think we started a little slow tonight. The game was pretty tight at halftime, we were only leading by 3. Plainfield had a great game plan against us but we were able to regroup at halftime and have a really strong third quarter and establish our running game. Defense was also able to cause a turnover and it kind of snowballed from there."

Cathedral will take on Bloomington South (10-2) Nov. 20 in the 5A south semistate at 7 p.m.. Bloomington South has only allowed 14 points (scoring 141) in the playoffs.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Cathedral has huge third quarter vs. Plainfield for 5A regional title