Second-ranked Cathedral began the 53rd annual Indiana High School Athletic Association football state tournament Friday night with a 68-0 Class 5A sectional semifinal victory at Anderson. Eight Fighting Irish players scored touchdowns, and the Irish defense held the Indians to just 87 total yards as it shut out its third opponent this season. Ollie Lewis returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to start the Cathedral scoring fest just 12 seconds into the contest. Landon Hughes then rushed for a two-point conversion. On the next Irish possession, Jimmy Pappas scored on a 22-yard run and Lewis was successful on the two-point attempt. Still in the first quarter, Xavier Dangerfield ran 31 yards for a TD, Marcus Shannon returned a fumble 25 yards for a score, and Cam Koers completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Harvey, making the score 37-0 just ten minutes into the game. In the second quarter, Van Krisiloff kicked a 35-yard field goal, JJ Kinnett added a 19-yard touchdown run, and Tell’i McCullough made the halftime score 54-0 on a 1-yard scoring run – triggering a running clock for the entire second half under the IHSAA’s Mercy Rule. In the final quarter, Austin Neal returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown and McCullough ran eight yards for his second score of the night. Koers completed all three of his attempts for 59 yards, giving him more than 1,000 passing yards for the second consecutive season. Krisiloff’s field goal and four point-after kicks increased his career kicking points to 203 – breaking Ben Gomez’ school record of 200 set in 2021. Cathedral improves its record to 7-3. Anderson exits the tournament with a 1-9 mark. The Fighting Irish travel to top-rated New Palestine for the Sectional 13 championship game next Friday. The Dragons defeated tenth-ranked Plainfield, 42-7, in their sectional semi-final matchup. New Palestine, the 2024 Class 4A state champion, is riding a 30-game home winning streak and has won 24 games-in-a-row overall. The Dragons are scoring 51 points per game, while allowing their opponents just 39 total points in 10 outings. The teams have played previously four times in the regional round of the post-season with each team winning twice.