INDIANAPOLIS
With senior workhorse Baron Huebler in the backfield, everyone knows Roncalli can run the football.
“One of the big things with us is we want to continue to get balanced on offense, so I was happy the passing game continues to get better,” Roncalli coach John Rodenberg said.
Aidan Leffler threw for three touchdowns in Class 4A No. 10 Roncalli’s 42-0 rout of Class 3A No. 10 Guerin Catholic Friday night in Circle City Conference action. Huebler rushed for two touchdowns and 143 yards on 14 carries, all in the first half.
“We know Baron is going to do what Baron does,” Rodenberg said. “Aidan got better and threw some good passes. I’ve been getting on (Leffler) a little bit and getting him to become a better football player. He’s a third-year starter now and he needs to step up in that leadership role. He needs to put pressure on himself to be a great player and he’s got a chance of being pretty good.”
Leffler completed 9 of 14 passes for 125 yards.
“I’ll give that all to the line,” Leffler said. “The line blocks well and gives us time. The receivers were making plays for me. It’s helping me out a lot and I’m really happy for those guys.”
The Golden Eagles (1-2, 0-2) had just 60 rushing yards and 78 passing.
Roncalli (3-1, 1-1) led 35-0 at halftime, sparked by two touchdown runs by Huebler and two TD passes by Leffler. Huebler got a deserved break in the second half, which was played with a running clock.
“Baron is a really special talent,” Leffler said.
Leffler’s touchdown pass of 32 yards to John Troxell gave Roncalli a 7-0 lead with 8:33 left. He connected with Michael Gallagher for an 8-yard score to push the lead to 14-0 with less than a minute gone in the second quarter. That was helped when Roncalli defensive back Dominic Brown recovered an Eagles fumble.
Huebler’s TD runs of 23 and 9 pushed the lead to 28-0 with just under 5 minutes left in the second quarter, and Roncalli increased it to 35-0 on defensive end Owen Volk’s 45-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:02 left before halftime.
Leffler connected with Kyle Lockard for a 33-yard TD pass with 6:01 left in third quarter.
“I was pleased with our defensive ends Owen Volk and Tommy Brownfield,” Rodenberg said. “A big part of their game was to hit the perimeter either with running the ball outside and get bootlegging, and we worked hard on stopping that.”
Rodenberg was pleased other players got a chance to play in the second half.
“It’s important because in this crazy season, you never know what is going to happen,” he said. “You don’t know if you are going to lose a guy for a couple games. We’re still a young football team. The more guys get playing time, the better it is for the program.”
Roncalli was scheduled to play at Brebeuf Jesuit next Friday, but the Braves were forced to cancel due to multiple players testing positive for COVID-19. Roncalli will now play at West Lafayette Harrison, which had an opening after its cancellation with Muncie Central.
Roncalli’s opener at Southport was canceled due to a Southport player’s positive COVID test.
