INDIANAPOLIS — It was a classic north side vs. south side matchup on Operation Football as the Roncalli Royals took on the Brebeuf Jesuit Braves on a rainy Friday night.
While remnants of Hurricane Helene caused several games in the Indianapolis area to be postponed or canceled, nothing was going to put a stop to this Circle City Conference showdown.
The game began Brebeuf kicking off to Roncalli and defenses dominating the opening quarter. It wasn't until late in the first when Braves running back C.J. Harris broke free for a 4-yard touchdown run. However, the rain and wind made kicking extra points difficult, and senior kicker Alex Todd's PAT was no good.
At the start of the second quarter, Roncalli marched down the field and put up their first points of the game with a 1-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Collin Ash. Gavin Louthain was able to get his PAT kick through the uprights and give the Royals the lead for the first time.
After scoring on his feet, Collin Ash then tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass on Roncalli's next possession to senior wide receiver Drew Nelson. Louthain again converted the PAT to give Roncalli a quick 14-6 lead midway through the second quarter.
Scoring continued for Roncalli soon after when a muffed punt by Brebeuf sent the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety. Finally, just before halftime and with the rain still falling, Ash broke free for a huge 69-yard touchdown run giving Roncalli a 23-6 lead after two quarters.
The touchdown run was the second for Roncalli's junior quarterback, and it made him responsible for the team's lead at halftime. 13Sports reporter Dominic Miranda checked in during halftime with a look at the conditions the Royals and Braves had to weather:
Roncalli put up 193 rushing yards in the first two quarters alone, compared to Brebeuf's 49 yards.
Brebeuf finally scored again midway through the third quarter when senior quarterback Maverick Geske found senior wide receiver Jay Hmurovich for a 22-yard touchdown pass. However, after struggling with extra points in the first half, Brebeuf opted for the two-point conversion, but could not find the end zone making the score 23-12 in favor of Roncalli.
Unfortunately, the bad luck continued for the Braves as they could not capitalize on their touchdown pass. With seconds remaining in the third, Geske was sacked at the Roncalli 15-yard line and fumbled the ball. It was recovered by Roncalli senior linebacker Robert Houser, who took it 76 yards to the house for a touchdown, now giving Roncalli a 30-12 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
Geske, trying to rally his seventh-ranked Brebeuf Braves over unranked Roncalli, was intercepted by Royals senior cornerback Eli Lauck, who returned it for a 96-yard pick-six, icing the game for Roncalli.
C.J. Harris found the end zone for the Braves with less than a minute to play, but it was too little too late and the Braves fell to an unranked Roncalli team.
With the loss, Brebeuf falls to 4-2 on the season and 1-2 in the conference. Roncalli moves to 3-2 and jumps Brebeuf in the Circle City Conference standings with a conference record of 2-1.
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