Sixth-rated Cathedral opened the 52nd annual Indiana high school football state tournament Friday night with a 36-0 second round victory at Indianapolis North Central. The win sends the Fighting Irish into the Sectional 6 championship game at top-rated and undefeated Lawrence North. The Wildcats eliminated Lawrence Central, 40-9, in another sectional semi-final game. The Irish scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions to jump out to a 29-0 first half lead over the Panthers. Amari Moore’s 7-yard scoring run put the Irish on the board just 90 seconds into the contest. Midway through the first quarter, Devaughn Slaughter carried a push pass from Cameron Koers three yards into the end zone. Xavier Dangerfield then added two rushing touchdowns in the second quarter. Dangerfield’s 25-yard TD run in the third period concluded the scoring and initiated a running clock for the remainder of the game under the IHSAA’s Mercy Rule. Dangerfield rushed 13 times for 76 yards, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Koers completed 14 of 17 passes for 135 yards. Slaughter had eight receptions for 62 yards. The Fighting Irish defense held the Panthers to 148 yards of total offense including minus five yards rushing. Cathedral improves to 6-3 this season, while North Central ends its year with a record of 0-10. Lawrence North is one of two 10-0 teams in Class 6A along with Crown Point. The Wildcats won their first-ever Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) championship this season. Cathedral handed LN its last loss, 20-3, in the sectional final round last season. The Irish are seeking their fifth 6A sectional championship in five seasons competing in the class.