Jay falls to No. 2 Irish (10/08/05)

A 45-7 loss hardly looks good. But against the second-ranked team in the state the Patriots really did put forth a solid effort.

The Jay County football team trailed just 21-0 at halftime before the Class 4A No. 2 Indianapolis Cathedral Fighting Irish poured it on in the second half to take their 38-point victory.

Cathedral (7-1), whose lone loss came against Ohio’s Division I No. 1 Cincinnati St. Xavier 24-21, has scored at least 14 points in the first half in each of its games this season. It has totaled 35 before the break twice, and 28 in a third contest.

“In the first half we were really pleased with the way the kids played,” said Hill. “If we cover that punt a little bit better than we did maybe it’s 14-0 at halftime. And who would’ve ever thought we’d be 14-0 at halftime against a team like this.”

That punt return — a wild 50-yarder by Jim Roesinger which was then fumbled ahead another 15 yards to the Jay County 20-yard line — set up Cathedral’s final first-half score. William Stubbs took the ball in on a 1-yard run with 2:09 remaining in the opening half.

The Fighting Irish also got a 3-yard TD run from quarterback Max Lupo on his only carry of the game in the first quarter, and a 6-yard scoring run by Emmanuel Daniels midway through the second.

Despite the score at intermission Jay County (5-3) had some positives.

Clint Muhlenkamp came up with a pair of turnovers as he recovered a fumble on Cathedral’s opening drive and picked off a Lupo pass to end their final possession of the opening half. The Patriots also gained 119 offensive yards before the break.

“... I thought Jay County played very hard,” said Cathedral coach Jim O’Hara. “I thought their kids did a good job. They were slanting very well and they stopped our offense early.

“We didn’t play perfect, but we’re very happy with the win.”

Cathedral put the game away in the second half, getting three more touchdowns, and a 37-yard field goal from kicker Vince Evans. Evans, the son of 1972 Portland High School graduate Bruce Evans, booted his field goal perfectly over the crossbar despite kicking into a heavy wind, and was also good on all six of his extra-point attempts on the night.

Jay County struggled in the second half, failing to get a first down without the aid of a penalty until its final possession. But when it came, it was big.

With less than three minutes remaining Steven Castillo broke a 59-yard run around the left end before being knocked out of bounds at the 7-yard line by Scott Hunt. Three plays later Gilbert went in for a 1-yard TD.

Castillo’s big run put him over the 100-yard mark on the night as he carried 22 times for 101 yards.

Gilbert also had a solid game, carrying 21 times for 72 yards.

They will each have a chance to break the 1,000-yard barrier in the next two games — at South Dearborn Friday and in first-round sectional at Pendleton Heights Oct. 21. Hill said he expects the battle against Cathedral can only help his team for the upcoming tournament.

“I’m not going to take anything away from the people in our sectional, but I’ve got to believe we’re not going to play a team like this for a long time,” he said after his team’s four-game winning streak came to an end. “They say this team might be the best 4A team in the state and I think they’re right.”

Stubbs, who missed last week’s game, provided one of the highlights of the game for the Fighting Irish as he surpassed the 1,000-yard mark on a 13-yard run early in the third quarter. He finished with 146 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries as Cathedral racked up 230 yards on the ground.

“It’s good for him, but more importantly it’s good for the team,” said O’Hara. “It says a lot about our offensive linemen. Our offensive line is really the heart and soul of our team.”

Lupo added 117 yards through the air as he completed each of his first eight passes before the Muhlenkamp interception. He finished 11-of-14 overall.

O’Hara said his team has had a difficult road since suffering the tragedy of the death of lineman Jeramy Schmitt Sept. 20, but they’ve been working through it as a team.

“We’re bonding together,” he said. “We’re a very close group. The kids like each other, they like playing football.

“We lost a brother, and this is how we’ve got to handle it. We’ve got to stay together, and they’re doing it. But we’re still grieving. It’s so surreal to lose a kid, especially the way he just dropped over. It’s such a tragedy.”[[In-content Ad]]