<p>For the Daily Journal</p><p>FORTVILLE</p><p>After three straight lopsided wins in state tournament action, Roncalli’s football team figured to encounter a much tougher challenge in Friday’s Class 4A regional at top-ranked Mt. Vernon.</p><p>Fourth-ranked Roncalli didn’t get to sit its starters in the second half this time, but it dominated Friday’s action nonetheless.</p><p>Roncalli controlled virtually every aspect of the game, building a quick 21-0 second-quarter lead, stunning the home crowd, and coasting from there to a 35-14 win over the Marauders.</p><p>The team will host third-ranked Mooresville (12-1), which edged second-ranked Evansville Central 37-34 in their regional matchup, in the semistate round next Friday.</p><p>The win gave Roncalli (11-1) its 16th regional crown and first since the 2016 squad won the 4A state title. John Rodenberg’s club also avenged a 25-17 regional loss to Mt. Vernon last year.</p><p>“It means everything,” said Roncalli senior running back Baron Huebler, who led everyone with 148 rushing yards. “When you come from a program with nine state championships, a lot is given to you, but a lot is expected out of you. It means a lot to get back to where Roncalli’s used to going.”</p><p>Most observers expected a close contest, but Roncalli took control early against the Marauders, who entered play 12-0. The visitors’ first touchdown came with quarterback Aidan Leffler hit Cole Beckman with a screen pass. Beckman then streaked down the left sideline untouched for a 53-yard touchdown on Roncalli’s second possession of the game.</p><p>Roncalli scored its next touchdown after Ryan Papandria recovered a fumbled Mt. Vernon pitch at the Marauder 45-yard line. A Huebler 23-yard run to the Mt. Vernon 4 set up Leffler’s second touchdown pass, a quick slant to Beckman with 42.4 seconds left in the first quarter.</p><p>Leffler found Kyle Lockard on a deep pass on Roncalli’s next possession on a third-and-7 play. Lockard made one defender miss, then sprinted to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown. That gave Roncalli an improbable 21-0 lead with 10:23 still to play in the first half.</p><p>Leffler threw just 10 passes in the first half and completed five, but three went for touchdowns and he totaled 175 yards.</p><p>Meanwhile, Roncalli held Mt. Vernon to just 22 rushing yards. Marauder quarterback Gehrig Slunaker threw for 231 yards and a touchdown, but needed 40 pass attempts to reach that number, and 79 of yards came on a garbage-time fourth-quarter touchdown drive when Roncalli led, 35-7.</p><p>“I was real pleased with how we stopped (Mt. Vernon) defensively,” Rodenberg said. “I had a lot of respect for that offense. We knew we had to pressure them, and our pressure worked. We’re not a big blitz team, but we felt this was the only way we could beat them.”</p><p>Roncalli only recorded one sack (Sean Sinovic), but that pressure forced a lot of hurried throws and inaccurate passes. Dominic Brown and Michael Hegwood intercepted Slunaker passes, and Roncalli recovered two fumbles while committing just one turnover (a Leffler interception).</p><p>While Leffler’s efficient passing controlled the game in the first half, Roncalli’s running game dominated the second half. It essentially put the game away with a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to open the second half. Roncalli ran the ball on every play and ate up 5:58 of clock.</p><p>Leffler’s 6-yard sneak completed the drive and gave Roncalli a 28-7 edge. The visitors didn’t throw another pass the entire second half.</p><p>“That’s our goal,” Huebler said of the running dominance. “Tear them down inch by inch, quarter by quarter and win the ball game.”</p><p>In addition to Huebler’s 148 yards, 89 in the second half, Leffler finished with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 touches.</p><p>The win gives Roncalli a 3-2 lifetime record in games against No. 1-ranked teams.</p>
