Roncalli football outlasts Brebeuf

INDIANAPOLIS

After a first half during which host Brebeuf threw every corner of its playbook at Roncalli, the visiting Royals asserted themselves the same way they usually do, while also shutting down the trickery.

The Class 4A No. 8 Braves used a pair of halfback-option passes Friday, one of which went for a touchdown, on their first scoring drive, then took a 14-10 lead with another pass-heavy drive with a couple of Wildcat plays for good measure just before halftime.

Second-ranked Roncalli responded by shutting out Brebeuf in the second half while using its usual healthy dose of Luke Hansen and a rejuvenated secondary to cruise to a 31-14 Circle City Conference victory.

The win gave the Royals (6-0, 3-0) a second straight conference championship and fourth in school history. The Braves fell to 3-2 and 1-2.

Hansen, who entered play averaging 263.8 rushing yards per game, finished with 266 yards and all four of the Royals’ touchdowns. He also made a key fourth-down tackle on defense with 8:51 remaining and Roncalli clinging to a 23-14 lead.

“That was definitely a bid turning point,” Hansen said of his fourth-down stop. “They had gotten some momentum, and that definitely stopped them in their tracks.”

The Royals didn’t take the lead until 4:45 remained in the third quarter, when Hansen completed a 10-play, 47-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, his second of the game at that point. A George Marten interception at the Brebeuf 47 set up the go-ahead touchdown drive.

In all, Roncalli defensive backs intercepted Brebeuf four times, but not before the Braves completed a pair of first-half touchdown passes to build its early lead.

“We didn’t change the scheme at all; we just came out a little sloppy at halftime,” Roncalli coach Eric Quintana said. “We had a couple of guys who were out all week (illness), so we were just trying to find that rhythm of getting back into the game. We challenged our guys to step up and make plays like they have all year, and they did a great job in the second half.”

Marten, Joey Uberta, Andrew Baugh, and Sam Roeder each intercepted Brebeuf passes. Baugh’s interception, with 5:02 remaining and Roncalli leading 23-14, was immediately followed by a 52-yard Hansen touchdown jaunt. That and his ensuing two-point conversion run concluded the scoring.

“It was more of a mentality change,” Hansen said of the Royals’ second-half dominance. “I don’t think we wore them down; they’re just as well-coached as we are. We might have come out a little lackadaisical (at the start of the game), but in the second half, coach Q really hammered into us that we’ve got to execute, and a switch flipped, and we came in that second half ready to play.”

Roncalli hosts Louisville Male next Friday.