Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
Blake Ress, Commissioner
_________________________________________________________________________
November 24, 2007
BISHOP CHATARD CLAIMS
RECORD-TYING NINTH STATE TITLE
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard won its
record-tying ninth IHSAA state football title, beating South Bend St. Joseph’s,
31-7, in the Class 3A State Championship game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
Chatard is now tied with Sheridan for
most state championships as the Blackhawks claimed their ninth in the Class A
championship game on Friday night.
It was the third championship at
Bishop Chatard for coach Vince Lorenzano and the team’s second
consecutive title. Lorenzano is one of nine coaches to have guided two
different schools (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter) to the state finals.
Following a scoreless first quarter
in which the two teams combined for five punts and a fumble, Bishop Chatard
(12-3) got its offense going in the second quarter when senior running back Dan
Kleinschmidt scored from three yards out, capping an eight-play, 54 yard drive
with 8:03 remaining. The Trojans
extended their lead to 14-0 on sophomore running back Ari Pappas’ 3 yard
touchdown run with 1:18 left before halftime. Eighteen seconds later on St.
Joseph’s next possession, Bishop Chatard’s Kyle Dietrich
intercepted a pass and returned it 36 yards for the touchdown to make it 21-0
at halftime.
Coach Kevin Downey’s Indians (12-3)
got their offense rolling to open the third quarter, moving the ball 54 yards
on 15 plays but their drive stalled when they turned the ball over on downs at
the Bishop Chatard 24. On the ensuing drive, the Trojans took the ball 78 yards
on six plays, scoring on a 24 yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Rob
Doyle to sophomore wide receiver Garrett Arnold.
Bishop Chatard added to its lead early
in the fourth quarter on a 34 yard field goal from sophomore kicker Cody
Dickson to make it 31-0. St. Joseph’s
got on the scoreboard when junior defensive back Zach Matthews recovered a Trojan fumble, and
took it 37 yards for the touchdown with 5:35 remaining in the game for the game’s
final score.
The Trojans racked up 255 yards of total
offense, while allowing St. Joe just 133. Bishop Chatard was led by Pappas’
82 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Rob
Doyle finished 10-12 passing for 120 yards and a TD for Chatard.
South Bend St. Joseph’s Mitchell
Speer was awarded the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award following the game.
ST.
JOE’S MITCHELL SPEER NAMED MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD WINNER
Following
the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Mitchell Speer of St.
Joseph’s High School as the winner of the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude
Award in Class 3A football.
He is the
fourth student athlete in school history to win an IHSAA mental attitude award
and the first since 1993.
Academically,
Speer ranks among the top 10 students in his senior class of more than 200. He
currently serves as senior class treasurer and president of the National Honor
Society. He sings in the school choir and participates in several cocurriculars
including German Club, Intramurals, Spirit Club and Life Athletes Club. He also
was selected to serve on a Student Leadership Council for the Northern Indiana
Conference last year.
He intends
to study Mathematics at the University of Notre Dame next fall.
Athletically,
Speer serves as team captain and has been a three-year varsity starter. He was
an honorable mention All-NIC selection last season. He also played baseball for
the Indians during his freshman and sophomore years.
He is the
son of Robert and Patricia Speer of South Bend.
The award
is presented annually to a senior participant in the state finals who was
nominated by his principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental
attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. It is named in
honor of the IHSAA’s third
commissioner who served the association from 1962-76 and who helped initiate the
state tournament in 1973.
Indiana
Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, presented a $1,000
scholarship to St. Joseph’s High School in the name of Mitchell Speer.
Class 3A Game Quotes
Bishop Chatard coach Vince Lorenzano
“There’s
never been a time when the effort’s not been there. These kids never
stopped giving effort since I’ve been here and I’m proud of
that.”
On Kyle Dietrick’s performance
(two interceptions)
“If
he’s not a big time player, I don’t know what a big-time player is.
He doesn’t have that amazing 4.4 speed but he makes plays and he’ll
hit you too.”
On ninth state championship
“There
are (coaches) who have been here before me who have done that (coached state
champions). In the history of this school’s coaches, there’s a lot
of Hall of Famers in there, but I don’t know that I’d put myself in
that category.”
On winning second consecutive state
championship
“You
know what, they’re all great. But it’s not about the title,
it’s really about the kids. I really still believe that It’s all
about those kids reaching your potential. You’ve got to keep remembering
that they’re high school kids and just them getting here is a heck of an
accomplishment.”
On defensive performance
“Defensively,
we’ve been good against the run all year, that’s not surprising.
We’ve played the best of the best this year. And our run defense did
pretty well stopping them. (St. Joe running back) Jordan Taylor was a little
injured. And that caused them problems so we were able to stop them partly
because of that and partly because our coaches and kids worked so hard all
year.”
St. Joseph’s coach Kevin
Downey
“We
ran into a better team. They were very
physical and did a great job of dominating the line of scrimmage and scoring
points. They have a quality program and
it showed today.”
“It’s
always disappointing to lose your last game, but I am never disappointed in our
players. It was a great year, and we
made a lot of strides. The seniors
hopefully established a legacy of sharing our team chemistry and camaraderie,
so we can come here and do this again.”
(On injured RB’s Jordan Taylor
and Dustin White)
“It
would have been better for us to have them because they are great
playmakers. It would have been nice to
showcase their talents in a state championship game.”
“They
(Chatard) did a great job up front on the line.
There weren’t a whole lot of plays that we could call. It was the
first time all year that we came across someone who could stop our run
game.”
“We
did a great job in making it here. We
ran up against a better team. More
credit to them, than being negative against our team. We wished it would have been
different.”
VSN MEANS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
Visit our
friends at Visual Sports Network, the IHSAA’s
official photographer for all state championship events and one of the leading
action photographers in the
CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE STILL AVAILABLE
For t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s tournament or for any of our events, visit our friends at Morris, Inc.
STATE FINALS PROGRAMS AVAILABLE
Couldn’t
be there for the state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official
souvenir program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in
person at the IHSAA Office (