Page 40 - 2020-21 Football State Finals Program

Last Year’s State Finals in Review Last Year’s State Finals in Review

Lafayette Central Catholic Takes Eighth Title on Late 2 Point Conversion
Ky Schrader’s 1-yard run and an ensuing two-point conversion pass Lutheran, coached by Dave Pasch, was making its first-ever ap- Bishop Chatard Rolls to 14th Football Crown
from Clark Barrett to Reece Buche with :10 remaining gave Lafay- pearance in the state finals after losing in the semi-state round the
ette Central Catholic a heart-stopping, 29-28 win over Indianapolis previous three seasons. Daylen Taylor ran for three touchdowns in the A Kyle Cheek touchdown pass of 8 yards to
Lutheran in the Class A championship game. first half to lead Chatard to a 34-3 win over Thomas Coleman closed the scoring.
The final score came after an 11-play, 80-yard drive that began after Heritage Hills in the Class 3A championship
Lutheran missed what likely would have been a game-clinching, game, giving the Trojans their state-best 14th The Patriots of coach Todd Wilkerson, who
33-yard field goal when the kick hit the upright with 3:49 left. title. were seeking the school’s second state title
The victory for coach Brian Nay’s Knights capped off an 12-3 (2000), finished 14-1.
season, in which the team won its last 11 games. It’s the eighth state Taylor scored on runs of 2, 5 and 55 yards en
title, in eight appearances, for Central Catholic. route to a 22-carry, 172-yard performance.
Barrett and Buche were the stars of the game for the Knights. The
quarterback Barrett completed 23-of-45 passes for 298 yards and Coach Rob Doyle’s squad completes a 14-1
three scores – all three to Buche, who caught nine passes for 164 season, winning their final 11 games. Chatard
yards. Daniel Roach had 11 receptions for 111 yards. is now 14-1 in 15 championship game appear-
Central Catholic took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on TD recep- ances – losing only in the 3A contest in 2005.
tions of 23 and 32 yards by Buche. Lutheran (13-1) roared back to
tie the game as quarterback Blake White threw scoring passes of 41 The Trojans took control from the start, taking
yards (to Jalen Elliott) and 43 yards (to Logan Beard).
the opening kickoff and driving 45 yards in eight
The Knights came back with a 29-yard TD toss to Buche to take a plays, finishing it with Taylor’s 2-yard score.
21-14 lead, but Lutheran tailback Marcus McFadden scored on an
18-yard run to tie the game, 21-21, at halftime.
After Heritage Hills scored what proved to be
McFadden gave the Saints a 28-21 lead in the third quarter on a its only points on a 26-yard field goal, Taylor
3-yard run as Lutheran began to assert itself with its rushing attack. scored twice in the second quarter.
McFadden helped put his team in position for what could have been
the game-clinching field goal late in the fourth. He finished with 161
yards on 32 carries. The Chatard defense got into the act in the
Western Boone Rolls to Repeat 2A State Championship fourth quarter as Patrick Mastrian returned
an interception 47 yards with 11:50 left in the
The only rematch of 2019 championship weekend went to Coach Jeff Adamson’s Panthers came in on a 12-game win- game.
Western Boone, this time in more dominating fashion. ning streak after an 0-2 start. Eastbrook has lost all four of
its state championship game appearances, including three
After taking a 34-20 victory over Eastbrook in the 2018 in the past four seasons. Evansville Memorial takes Second State Title in Three Years
Class 2A final, the Stars rolled to a 44-7 triumph over the
Panthers to claim the school’s third state championship. For the second time in three consecutive appearances, Evansville Coach Luke Amstutz’s Knights (14-1) became the fourth (of five)
The top-ranked Stars (14-1) finished the campaign on a Memorial took home the state championship, this time by moving unbeaten teams entering the finals to leave with a loss.
13-game winning streak and sport a 29-1 record over the up a class and scoring a 21-3 win over East Noble in the Class
4A title game.
last two championship seasons.
Memorial defeated Brebeuf Jesuit to win the 3A title in 2017,
WeBo completely dominated the contest from the start, before falling to West Lafayette in the 3A game a year ago. The
taking the opening kickoff 65 yards on 10 plays to go ahead Tigers were making their fifth title game appearance in school
7-0 on an 8-yard run by Connor Hole. history – all since 2008 when coach John Hurley took over the
program. The victory was his 100th career triumph.
Hole added a 31-yard touchdown catch in the second
quarter, while Robby Taylor later ran for three TDs and Memorial (13-1) trailed, 3-0, at halftime after EN’s Joe Painter
quarterback Spencer Wright also threw a second touch- booted a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Tigers took
down pass. Kicker Jacob Taylor closed the scoring with a
26-yard field goal. the second-half kickoff and embarked on an 18-play, 80-yard
drive that took nearly eight minutes off the third quarter clock and
All told, the Stars of coach Justin Pelley had 512 yards ended when halfback Colton Pence completed a 6-yard toss to
in offense (258 rushing, 254 passing), while holding the Will Brackett for a 7-3 lead.
Panthers to 127.
Eastbrook (12-3) broke the shutout with a 1-yard TD run by After an interception, the Tigers took command with a much
shorter drive -- this one a two-play, one-yard “march,” capped by
Wyatt Stephenson early in the fourth quarter. a 1-yard blast by Brock Combs. Combs put an exclamation point
on the victory with a spinning, tackle-breaking 65-yard run for the
final score with three minutes left.

40 48th Annual IHSAA State Football Tournament is proudly presented by the INDIANAPOLIS COLTS. IHSAA - Pure Spirit. Pure Sport. PURE INDIANA! 41