Roncalli’s Class 4A sectional bracket is littered with roadblocks. The Royals got past the first one on Friday.
Zach Dozier and Collin Ash combined for 282 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, lifting the host Royals to a 33-17 sectional quarterfinal victory over Northview.
Next up for Roncalli (5-4) is a semifinal contest at No. 7 Brebeuf Jesuit, an overtime winner over Danville. The two Circle City Conference rivals met on Sept. 27, with the Royals securing a 37-18 road win.
To set up that rematch, though, Roncalli needed to get past the Knights (8-2), and it didn’t put that game away until the second half.
Up 19-17 at the break, the Royals opened the third quarter with a 48-yard quarterback keeper by Ash that stretched the lead to nine points. Ash (120 yards rushing, 54 passing) added a 9-yard scoring run with 11:09 left in the fourth.
Roncalli’s defense did the rest, limiting Northview to 79 total yards over the final 24 minutes while pitching a second-half shutout. Will Hegwood intercepted a pass, forced a fumble and tied Casey Horton for the team lead with nine tackles.
The two sides traded field goals in the first quarter, with Roncalli’s Gavin Louthain connecting from 36 yards and Northview’s Luke Whitman responding from 37 yards three minutes later. It wasn’t until the 10:18 mark of the second that anyone found the end zone, with Dozier hitting paydirt on a 16-yard run.
The Knights answered quickly, scoring on a 19-yard pass play with 8:39 left in the half, but Dozier put Roncalli back on top when he scored on a 48-yard run with 5:58 to go. Louthain made it 19-10 with a 29-yard field goal before the Knights scored just 12 seconds before halftime to make it a two-point game.
