INDIANAPOLIS — Uncharacteristically, Roncalli High School junior wide receiver Jacob Luedeman dropped what looked like a certain touchdown pass late in the second quarter.
“That first one hit me right in the hands,” Luedeman said. “I made that catch 100 times in practice. I didn’t know what to think after that. I took time after halftime to regather my self-confidence.”
Fortunately for Luedeman, he got another chance at a wide-open catch — and this time he turned it into a 70-yard TD to give the Rebels a 28-14 lead with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter. Roncalli went on to defeat NorthWood, 34-22, for the Class 4A state championship.
“I looked up at the Jumbotron, and he was gaining ground on me so I dove into end zone,” recounted Luedeman, who finished with two catches for 85 yards. “The redemption was the best part after the dropped (65-yarder) that should have been a touchdown.”
Luedeman was the Rebels’ leading receiver entering the game with 35 catches.
Memorable month for Sandler
Patrick Sandler isn’t the only reason Roncalli’s magical postseason ride concluded with a state championship Friday evening inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Greenwood resident is, however, one of the main reasons.
Sandler, a right-footed senior, booted dramatic game-winning field goals twice in a span of four weeks to keep the Rebels on course for the program’s ninth title and the seventh under head coach Bruce Scifres.
On Friday, Sandler’s heroics weren’t required in the team’s 34-22 victory against second-ranked and previously undefeated NorthWood.
All the same, he’s enjoyed some of the most memorable Fridays of his young life.
With the Rebels trailing at Lebanon in a sectional semifinal, Sandler converted a 21-yard field goal from the left hash mark for a 34-33 win. Then, last week’s semistate at No. 7 East Central ended with Sandler perfect on a 30-yard try in a 24-21 Rebels’ victory.
“A shout out to the offense. They keep getting us in position to score points and the defense makes stops when it has to,” said Sandler, who did make good on all four conversion kicks on Friday. “When they call on me I just try to stay calm. Clear your mind, trust your instincts and knock it through.”
Sandler finished his final season in a Roncalli uniform with seven made field goals and 51 conversion kicks for a total of 72 points.
Rebels feast on turnovers
As has been the case many times this season, Roncalli used some defensive takeaways to fuel its success.
Gabe Otley intercepted a Trey Bilinski pass with 9:01 left in the second quarter. That pickoff — Otley’s sixth of the season — set up a Derek O’Connor touchdown run that put the Rebels ahead 14-0.
“I’m just so proud of the whole secondary,” Otley said. “When the ball was in the air, we knew it was ours and we went and got it.”
Roncalli’s Luke Smock also recovered a fumbled punt late in the first half.
The Rebels did lose a fumble in the third quarter, which NorthWood turned into a touchdown that cut the Roncalli lead to 28-22. But with the Panthers threatening again early in the fourth quarter, Roncalli junior Dylan Williams picked off a fourth-down pass and returned it to midfield. That set up O’Connor’s third rushing score of the day, giving the Rebels a 12-point cushion with 8:36 remaining.
“I just knew we needed a stop and we needed that momentum back,” Williams said.
First time for everything
Though Friday’s state championship victory was the ninth in program history for Roncalli, the win against NorthWood did mark a first for the Rebels in that the team had never played a title game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Roncalli’s first state finals appearance was in the 1983 game at Warren Central. The Rebels played in 10 more championship games at the Hoosier (later RCA) Dome between 1985 and 2005.
