For the Daily Journal
INDIANAPOLIS — As the game wore on, Roncalli High School coach Bruce Scifres saw that the way NorthWood was lining up its defense might create an opening for quarterback Derek O’Connor to use his legs.
“We felt running him right at them was a good thing to do,” Scifres said. “It seemed like it worked pretty well, and we kept feeding the horse.”
O’Connor rushed for 154 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries in the Class 4A No. 1 Rebels’ 34-22 victory against No. 2 NorthWood on Friday in the 4A state championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. O’Connor ran for 129 yards after halftime.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“Different things work for us each game,” O’Connor said. “Once we find something is working, we stick with it. The line did a great job. It’s easy to run when the line is blocking like they did.”
NorthWood finished 14-1. The Rebels earned their ninth state championship and third unbeaten season. The others came in 1993 and 1999.
“All of them are very satisfying,” said Scifres, whose team last won a state title in 2004. “To get back here after it’s been a little while, it’s very special. I couldn’t be more proud of our kids. The way our kids have played, hung in there and fought through adversity, it’s just been a blessing to be around them.
“To win a state championship is awesome. To do it with a 15-0 record is even better. They leave quite a legacy, and they deserved it.”
O’Connor’s third TD, a 22-yarder, pushed the Rebels’ lead to 34-22 with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter. The drive was set up when the Rebels’ Dylan Williams intercepted NorthWood’s Trey Bilinski and returned it 42 yards to the 50.
Following O’Connor’s TD, Roncalli then stopped NorthWood on fourth-and-4 from the Rebels’ 31. Boosted by several key runs by O’Connor, Roncalli proceeded to run out the final 6:43.
O’Connor completed 11 of 18 pass for 159 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Luedeman in the third quarter.
“Derek is an unbelievable athlete, an unbelievable competitor,” Scifres said. “I’m proud of the way he stepped up (Friday) and carried us through the second half.”
After a scoreless first quarter, O’Connor scored touchdowns on runs of 2 and 1 yards to put the Rebels ahead 14-0. Bilinski’s 2-yard run cut the lead to 14-6 with 1:33 left in first half.
Roncalli senior receiver Luke Smock came back for a handoff and scored on a 34-yard run to push Roncalli’s lead to 21-6.
“It was wide open and I was able to go down the sidelines,” said Smock, who was quick to give credit to the offensive line.
The Panthers answered quickly with a 36-yard TD run by Brayton Yoder and a two-point conversion run by Landen Gessinger to slice the lead to 21-14. Following Luedeman’s 70-yard TD, Yoder scored from 31 yards, and a two-point conversion pass narrowed the deficit to 28-22 with 1:48 left in the third quarter.
O’Connor said belief in each other was the key to the perfect season.
“Just trusting in the guys all around us and knowing each guy was going to do our job,” O’Connor said. “It’s the way it worked for the past three or four years. We really came together like brothers and it showed out here. I’m going to be so proud of this team for the rest of my life. I’ve had the best time of my life.”
Same for Smock.
“This is an awesome feeling. I can’t wait to celebrate with my brothers,” Smock said.
NorthWood coach Nate Andrews said the Rebels had a great group of players who can make adjustments.
“They have a great staff,” Andrews said. “They converted on so many third downs (7 of 12). We got banged up early. We got tired and just couldn’t hang in long enough.”
