Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cathedral). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat the North Central Panthers 53-13 at home. Given the Fighting Irish's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Panthers are ranked 54th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Xavier Dangerfield was his usual excellent self, rushing for 188 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. That high mark didn't come from nowhere: he now rushed for 141 or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Devaughn Slaughter also helped out with an impressive 82 receiving yards.
Cathedral's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Jack Lockhart and Aidan Hughes. Cathedral got some further help from Kyle Harden: he forced a fumble, made seven total tackles (2.0 for loss), and defended a pass.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Cathedral was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 251 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 213 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Cathedral now has a winning record of 3-2. As for North Central, they are on a 15-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-5.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Cathedral will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Center Grove at 7:00 p.m. on October 4th. As for North Central, they will challenge Carmel at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
