INDIANAPOLIS — Gibson Southern stormed back to win the Class 3A state football championship Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Trailing Brebeuf Jesuit 29-14 late in the second quarter, the Titans scored the game's next 31 points, then held on for the 45-35 win in their first trip to the state title game.
The teams traded scores early in the first quarter before the Braves scored 19 straight to take a 26-7 lead less than three minutes into the second quarter. Max Walters caught three touchdown passes from Nolan Buckman in the first half, including a 64-yard scoring play that put Brebeuf up 14-7.
Walters caught 13 passes in the game for 210 yards.
Gibson Southern's Rory Heltsley also scored three times in the first half, including a pair of scores in the final 1:08 of the second quarter, the second of which closed the Braves' lead to 29-28 at the break.
Brady Allen, who is committed to Purdue, completed 28 of 50 passes for 398 yards and five touchdowns for the Titans. Buckman threw for 319 yards and four scores for Brebeuf in the loss.
"Our heart and how much this group is together helps us prevail in tough situations and they stayed together and kept playing and kept fighting," Gibson Southern head coach Nick Hart said after the win.
The 12 wins posted by the Braves this season is a school record.
The Titans scored 17 points off of three interceptions thrown by Buckman. The Braves also intercepted Allen three times, but only cashed in with seven points.
Gibson Southern's Ryan Holzmeyer was awarded the Ress Mental Attitude Award after the title game.