FB 4A FINAL: Three straight for #3 Cathedral, 56-29 win over Mishawaka

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From ihsaa.org

INDIANAPOLIS – Third-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral revved its engines for 28 unanswered points to end the first half Nov. 24 and operated at full speed the rest of the way in a 56-29 shootout victory over Mishawaka in the Class 4A championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

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The Fighting Irish victory elevated 18th-year coach Rick Streiff into an elite category as one of four coaches in state history with at least eight state titles. Streiff won his eighth to tie Dick Dullaghan of Carmel and Ben Davis while Sheridan’s Bud Wright and Fort Wayne Luers’ Matt Lindsay each have nine.

Cathedral (10-5), which played a powerhouse schedule, entered the postseason with a 4-5 record but became the first five-loss team to win the 4A championship. The state title was Cathedral’s third in a row and 10th overall, and its six-win playoff push gives the Irish an 18-game winning streak in the state tournament.

There were standouts aplenty for the Irish, but perhaps none produced more stunning moments than wide receiver Terry McLaurin.

The Cathedral junior scored on the opening play from scrimmage, catching a 79-yard pass from senior quarterback Connor Rice that eclipsed the 4A record for longest TD completion. McLaurin also had a 66-yard punt return for another 4A mark and scored on a 41-yard run.

Rice completed 11 of 13 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Senior wideout Wyatt Wood caught four passes for 105 yards and a TD, joining McLaurin (three catches for 100 yards and the early score) in triple digits receiving.

Meanwhile, senior running back Gino Gillum carried 20 times for 129 yards and four touchdowns, tying a 4A mark for rushing scores. Gillum’s six-yard burst for the game’s final score with 1:45 left catapulted the Irish to a new points mark in Class 4A.

The 85 combined points for Cathedral and Mishawaka ranked as another 4A record.

Unranked Mishawaka was playing in its first state championship game since finishing as the Class 3A runner-up in 1974. Fifth-year coach Bart Curtis’ Cavemen finished 11-4.

Senior QB Sam Schrader led Mishawaka with 190 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Schrader also went 4 of 10 passing for 74 yards and another score. Senior halfback Matt Carver led Mishawaka with 61 receiving yards.

The Class 4A state championship game records:

• Longest Punt Return: 66 yards by Terry McLaren, Cathedral
• Longest TD Pass: 79 yards by Connor Rice to Terry McLaurin, Cathedral
• Most PAT kicks (individual): 8 by Mitch Gerbers, Cathedral
• (Tied) Most Rushing TDs: 4 by Gino Gillum, Cathedral
• (Tied) Most Points: 24 by Gino Gillum, Cathedral
• Most Combined Points: 85 by Cathedral and Mishawaka
• Most Points: 56 by Cathedral
• Most Points in a Half: 35 by Cathedral (1st half)
• Most PAT kicks (team): 8 by Cathedral
• Most TDs: 8 by Cathedral
• Most Rushing TDs: 6 by Cathedral
• Total Offense: 514 by Cathedral
• Most Combined Total Offense: 886 by Cathedral (514) and Mishawaka (372)
• Most Punt Return Yards: 112 by Cathedral

Mishawaka’s Schrader named Eskew Mental Attitude Award winner
Sam Schrader of Mishawaka was selected by members of the IHSAA Executive Committee as this year’s winner of the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A football. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, presented a scholarship check for $1,000 to the school in his name.

Since 1989, more than $745,000 in college scholarships has been presented by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance to deserving high school students in Indiana. The award, named in honor of the IHSAA’s third commissioner who served from 1962-76, is presented annually to a senior in each classification who best demonstrates excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability.

Schrader owns a 4.069 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society, and has served on the Mishawaka Student Council and Mayor’s Youth Council in his hometown. The senior quarterback is a three-year letterman in football and served as team captain each of the last two seasons. He was named All-Northern Indiana Conference this season and was voted the league’s MVP.

In addition to football, he’s a three-year starter in baseball and played two years of varsity basketball for the Cavemen.

The son of Joseph and Linda Schrader of Mishawaka is the second Caveman to win the award, joining Scot Shaw in the 1974 Class 3A final game. He is currently undecided on his college choice and area of study.

Finally, some postgame quotes:

Indianapolis Cathedral coach Rick Streiff
(On answering all Mishawaka’s challenges) “Well, thank goodness we did. Our offense played great, and their offense is a great, great offense, and we definitely had our challenges. We made some tweaks during the second quarter when they made a run at us, and from then on we did pretty well.

“Our defense made a couple of stops when we needed them, and we had some big plays that gave us some breathing room … but it never felt easy. Mishawaka has a very, very good team.”

(On Gino Gillum’s four TDs, matching last year’s performance) “He’s a great kid, and our coaches put in a great game plan. He played well, our kids passed well, caught well, ran well. And our defense was able to slow them down just enough that we were able to win.

(On Terry McLaurin) His speed is something that sets us apart as a team. He’s a real difference maker.”

(On Mishawaka’s Sam Schrader) “I heard coach Curtis earlier in the week say that he was the best player nobody knows about. Well, they know about him now. What a phenomenal player. He was very deserving of the attitude award, and I bet colleges will start looking at him.”

(On record-breaking points in the game) “We needed every one of them tonight.”

(On the seniors) “Yeah, the kids … the kids have battled through some games and come back to this point. Very special. Getting here once is hard, twice is unusual, but three times is just very special.”

(On moving up to Class 5A due to postseason success) “You show us where to play, and we’ll be there.”

Mishawaka coach Bart Curtis
“We played great at times and not so well at times. Against a great team like Cathedral, you’ve got to play well all the time to win, and we didn’t do that.”

“This group is a special group. They have done some things that haven’t been done at Mishawaka for a long time. I’m proud of the team’s effort. It hurts right now, but I think when we look back over the years, we’ll say we had a heckuva run.”

(On Cathedral’s offense) “Their offense is fast and big, and they execute well. They fumbled a couple of times early, and that helped us stay in the ball game. You’ve got to tackle and cover against a team like that, and we didn’t do either very well. They did everything necessary to secure the win – they just beat us.”

“When it was 14-14 they fumbled, but we were punting after three plays. I thought when they ran off three straight scores – and almost four scores – to end the first half, we just couldn’t recover from it.”

“I thought we had to score just about every time we had the football to win. We didn’t do that. We scored a lot, but not enough.”

Click here for the box score.