money Bishop Chatard's defense turns over No. 1 West Lafayette for semistate title
WEST LAFAYETTE – “One more time!”
Once Bishop Chatard coach Rob Doyle yelled out those three words Friday night during his team’s postgame huddle at the West Lafayette Athletic Complex, his Trojans enthusiastically responded just as they had the past five weeks.
With resounding cheers, raised arms and another postseason trophy in collective hand.
A phrase meant to inspire, it’s become a battle cry, one which has the Class 3A sixth-ranked Trojans back where the season began and exactly where the storied football program remains unmatched.
Scores, highlights, stats:Indiana high school football semistate roundup
Already the proprietors of an on-going IHSAA record 15 football state championships all-time, the Trojans are one more win away from tacking on No. 16 after halting top-ranked West Lafayette, 21-3, for Bishop Chatard’s 17th semistate title overall since 1983.
“One more time. We always say we don’t want it end, so now we know. This will be our last chance to be together,” said Doyle, following his Trojans’ third semistate victory in four years. “It’s a special time with the kids. We’re going to enjoy every part of it.”
The prize for victory in Tippecanoe County was a trip back to Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis next weekend against No. 9 Lawrenceburg (13-1) where the Trojans (10-4) opened their season with a 24-13 win over Brebeuf Jesuit during the Horseshoe Classic on Aug. 19.
Unbeaten in the state finals through their past eight appearances since 2006, the Trojans’ offense overcame Friday’s frigid, sub-freezing temperatures, wind gusts and tumbling snow to provide the three decisive and necessary touchdowns to advance.
The defense, however, supplied the crushing blows, stymieing the potent, up-tempo Red Devils, who were limited to a mere second-quarter 26-yard field goal.
Averaging 46.6 points per game, the Red Devils were neutralized behind five interceptions recorded by five different Bishop Chatard defenders, two turnovers on down and a humbling 186 yards in total offense.
“I think we had a good game plan. The coaches prepped us really well with what they were going to come out with, and the mentality was, ‘one more game, fight as hard as you can, state is on the line, let’s go back to where we started,” Chatard junior defensive back Ryan Keating said. “We just came out and trusted each other.”
Their faith resulted in a dominating wave of momentum-crushing picks, as Bishop Chatard snatched four consecutive interceptions in the second half against Red Devils senior quarterback Max Mullis.
Mullis entered the game with five interceptions all season and 31 touchdowns thrown with 2,500-plus yards and more than 1,000 yards rushing with 21 touchdowns. The Trojans bottled up Mullis, who rushed for 93 yards and completed 8 of 25 pass attempts for 61 yards and five interceptions.
“It was just a great defensive performance. We were firing on all cylinders, and everybody was where they were supposed to be. Great effort by everyone,” senior Nathan Meyer said.
“We have a great scout team quarterback, Aidan Arteaga. He prepared us really well. He was running all over us all week, so I felt like we came in prepared, so we knew what (Mullis) was and how to defend him.”
Keating opened the pick parade on West Lafayette’s second third-quarter series, before junior Zach Garner nabbed the second nearly four minutes later. Meyer’s pick stopped the marching Red Devils on 1st-and-10 from Bishop Chatard’s 33-yard line in the fourth quarter.
Junior Jack Steadham made it four in a row with an interception at the 50-yard line on 1st-and-10 from West Lafayette’s 28 with 6 minutes, 3 seconds left in the game.
“We were working for a couple of weeks, scheming them and getting us ready. We had segments sprinkled in every practice for this. We were just getting ready for that fast-tempo offense,” Doyle said. “It worked out really well. The defense, that was the best I’ve seen us play at a semistate. That was unbelievable.”
Senior quarterback Drew VanVleet was efficient, setting up his own 16-yard, opening-drive touchdown run after a 31-yard completion to senior Noah Dudik to give the Trojans an early 7-0 lead.
He completed 9 of 19 passes for 109 yards and a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior Colin Guy for a 21-3 advantage in the third quarter. Dudik finished with 40 yards on three catches, while Guy had 34 yards on three receptions and senior Aiden Duncan added 27 on three grabs.
Junior Jack Weybright totaled 76 yards on 19 carries for the Trojans, which lost junior Luke Purichia (56 yards rushing on 15 carries) in the first half due to a shoulder injury.
“Luke is out, and Jack Weybright did a great job along with Joe Bridenstine,” Doyle said. “We’ll see if Luke is going to be a go. We don’t know. I hope he is. He’s a great linebacker, too. He’s a big piece of what we do.”
VanVleet had to wipe away tears of joy during the trophy presentation. A transfer from Richmond High School, VanVleet lost a year of eligibility in 2021-22, but now with a date at state Saturday, Nov. 26, the lost time proved worth the wait.
“Our quarterback right now is in tears. He gave up a lot to be here,” said Doyle while wrestling with his emotions. “He had to sit and wait a year. He’s a great player and he was willing to do that just to a part of this. We don’t have a lot of transfers that come here, and again, he was the main dog out there. I’m really happy for him.”
Elation could be instore for the finale, “One More Time.”
“This means everything to me, means everything to us. This is an absolute dream come true. This is everything I could ever want in a high school football experience. It’s been an amazing year, and I don’t know if it’s quite sank in yet, but I’m sure it will once we’re at Lucas Oil,” VanVleet said. “That’s the most important thing. The next one.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school football: Bishop Chatard beats West Lafayette
