Hardware and Hoops for the Circle City Conference

Friday saw the conference’s successful fall season continue with the addition of two more trophies. The Bishop Chatard Trojans defeated the Cardinal Ritter Raiders at North Central 56-27. The game got off to an exciting start with a score occurring every two minutes for the first eight minutes of the game. Eventually, the Trojan defense got its bearings and found a way to slow down Ritter’s Diomoni Small. Will Kellison had at least three sacks. Tony Harrison scored 4 times on only 8 carries. Daylen Taylor added three scores while rushing for 243 yards. Mark Nondorf was 9 for 17 for 185 and a score. Adam Sowinski had 6 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown. Bishop Chatard will travel to Danville for a rematch of the Trojans’ final game of the 2016 season. The Warriors are 12-0, but will enter next Friday night as a two-point underdog according to Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings.
 
The Brebeuf Braves also grabbed a Sectional Championship trophy last Friday, their first in four years. I would be hard pressed to do a better job of explaining this game than what can be found on brebeufathletics.org:
 
“For the second time in two weeks, Brebeuf’s special teams scored two touchdowns in a two-minute span to blow open a close game and send the Braves to a 48-14 victory over Southmont in the Sectional 26 championship.
 
Simon Banks scooped a Brandon Wertz blocked punt and ran 43 yards to put the Braves ahead 21-7 in the 2nd quarter. Following a three-and-out, the Mounties punted to Gabe Wright, who ran 93 yards for Brebeuf’s next TD, and the Braves were on their way to coach Mic Roessler’s 2nd sectional title in five years. It was Wright’s third kick-return TD in the last two games, as the speedy junior gained 206 all-purpose yards in 4 touches.
 
Senior QB Derrick Ozobu threw three TD passes in the game, bringing his season total to 16. Catching Ozobu’s scoring strikes were Michael Bales, Jacob Pressler, and, in the feel-good moment of the postseason, senior RB Noah DeLumpa, who saw his first action after coming all the way back from a broken leg vs. Ritter in week three.
 
Senior DB Miles McIlwain scored the Braves’ final points on a 43-yard interception return of Southmont QB Hunter Chadwick.
 
Brebeuf (8-4) will host 3A #2-ranked West Lafayette (11-1) next Friday night in the regional championship at St. Vincent Health Field.”
 
On Saturday, the Brebeuf Braves volleyball team headed to Worthen Arena to face New Castle for the IHSAA AAA State Championship. The Trojans started hot, serving aces and pounding kills all through the first set. The Braves responded well in the second game, taking a 7-2 lead early. The two teams traded the lead several times until New Castle went on a 9-2 to clinch the victory. Brebeuf continued to battle, but ultimately, the day belonged to New Castle. The highlight of the day came after the match when Grace Roudebush was awarded the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award. The Braves finished the season with an impressive 29-7 record and have once again established themselves as a force in AAA volleyball.
 
Girls hoops got underway on Saturday as well. Guerin Catholic faced off against the Bloomington North Cougars. Despite cutting the Cougars’ lead down to five early in the fourth, the Golden Eagles came out on the losing side of a 62-43 score. Sydney Geis lead Guerin Catholic in scoring with 16 points while Nicole Cunningham added 11. Heritage Christian hosted the East Central Trojans. After a close first quarter, the Eagles began powering ahead. A 20-point halftime lead was eventually cut to 17, but Heritage Christian pulled out the 74-57 victory to move to 1-0 on the young season. No stats were available for this game. Brebeuf and Cathedral were scheduled to play, but the game was postponed.
 
Looking forward to this week, we will have our first conference matchup for Girls Basketball and the Winter Season when Guerin Catholic and Roncalli collide on Saturday at 7:30 in Noblesville. As mentioned above, Bishop Chatard will be traveling to Danville while Brebeuf will be hosting West Lafayette in football Regional action. In non-conference girls basketball action, Roncalli will travel to Perry Meridian on Tuesday and host Pike on Thursday. Guerin Catholic will host Jay County on Friday. Heritage Christian travels to Seymour Tuesday, Carmel Thursday, and Lawrence North on Saturday. Bishop Chatard hosts Crispus Attucks on Saturday to open their season. Brebeuf will host Speedway on Thursday. All of these games are scheduled for 7:30 starts aside from the Chatard game which will be played at 12:30 and the HCS/LN game (1:30).