RUSSIAVILLE
Postseason football can present the opportunity to face an opponent from another part of the state.
Take 10-time state champion Roncalli, which on Friday traveled to the rural acreage west of Kokomo to kick off what the Class 4A No. 1 Royals hope is another lengthy playoff run.
Coach John Rodenberg’s crew didn’t disappoint, pounding host Western, 47-8, in the first meeting between the two schools to earn the right to host Lebanon in a sectional semifinal next week.
Roncalli (10-0) piled up 369 yards of offense in the opening half alone to take a 41-0 lead and guarantee a running clock the final two quarters.
“Sometimes it is hard to focus because you don’t really know the team you’re playing,” said Roncalli senior blocking back Michael Gallagher, who helped pave the way for a ground attack that produced 288 yards. “But we spent all week game-planning for them, and actually practiced on grass to get used to it.
“We just came out and did what we had to do. Our offensive line is the best O-line in the state, and we just knew we had to go out there and run the ball and pass the ball.”
The Royals struck on game’s third play, with junior back Luke Hansen motoring through a massive hole carved out by the offensive line and rumbling 33 yards with only 29 seconds elapsed in the game. Their second drive took only one play, quarterback Aidan Leffler’s perfectly timed lob down the visitor’s sideline hauled in by Kyle Lockard for a 57-yard score.
Junior defensive back Andrew Baugh made two first-half interceptions for Roncalli, his first with a one-handed snag to set the offense up at its 28.
Leffler eventually struck again on first and goal from the Western 7, finding Caden Gore for a touchdown pass to make it 21-0 with 3:33 still remaining in the opening period. Hansen then sandwiched TD runs of 1 and 63 yards around Leffler’s swing pass to Gallagher in the right flat for an 18-yard touchdown.
Western, which had 77 yards of offense prior to intermission, had 47 of them in the waning stages of the second on sophomore quarterback Deaglan Pleak’s pass over the middle to senior Garrett Lupoi. It was the only time in the half that the Panthers crossed midfield.
The host squad was playing without its usual starting quarterback, senior Dylan Bryant, who sustained an injury in last week’s loss to Class 3A No. 1 West Lafayette and had been credited with more than half his team’s rushing yards this season.
Playing just the opening half, Leffler completed 10 of 13 passes for 163 yards; Hansen’s night’s work was complete with six first-half carries for 132 yards. Gore and sophomore running back Ben Brandenburg finished with 66 and 65 rushing yards, respectively, for Roncalli.
“I’m glad at how we focused,” said Rodenberg after watching his team finish with 459 yards of offense. “We knew what we could come up and do, and I’m glad our kids kept their composure. I’m pleased at how we played. We played well on both sides of the ball.”
