Bishop Chatard, ranked No. 182 in the High School Football America 300 national rankings, powered by NFL Play Football, is now 17-1 in Indiana high school football state championship games. Friday, at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, the Trojans beat Heritage Hills 35-7 for the program’s second straight Class 3A state title. It’s the school’s 17th overall championship, which is the most for any school in the Hoosier State. The Trojans only loss was in 2005.
“We’ve got a great group of seniors and they set this goal from the beginning: To be undefeated number one, which is no easy task with our schedule, and number two, to get this far and win this game,” said Rob Doyle, head coach of the Trojans. “They’ve had a proud tradition. They’ve been working hard together… I’m just so happy for them because they deserve this. They’ve worked really hard to get here.”
On defense, Chatard (15-0) cornerback Colin Gay tied the overall state championship record with three interceptions, set in 1996 by Zionsville’s Wes Kendall. All three interceptions resulted in touchdowns for the Trojans.
“Colin’s a two-way guy, it’s really hard to be a starter on our team, let alone play both ways. He missed a ball in the endzone, and we were messing with him a little bit, and so he got that first pick and it’s like, ‘Well, you got it on defense, so we’ll let it slide.’”
Chatard’s offense was balanced with 241 passing yards and 207 rushing yards.
Heritage Hills’ Braxton Schaefer named Ress Mental Attitude Award recipient
During the awards ceremony, Braxton Schaefer of Heritage Hills High School was announced by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the recipient of the Blake Ress Mental Attitude Award in Class 3A Football.
The award is annually presented to a senior who is nominated by his principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability during his four years of high school.
The only returning lineman from last year’s team, Schaefer is a two-way lineman for the Patriots earning all-conference honors. He is also a four-year letterwinner in wrestling, advancing to last year’s semi-state round and won the Pocket Athletic Conference championship in his weight class.
Schaefer ranks first in his senior class academically, is involved his school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Beta Club and captained the school’s Math Academic Bowl Team.
He is the son of Brock and Michelle Schaefer of Tennyson, IN. He is currently undecided on his college choice but is interested in studying Mechanical Engineering.
The award is named in honor of Commissioner Emeritus Blake Ress, who served as the IHSAA’s seventh commissioner from 2000-11.
The Indianapolis Colts, the presenting sponsor of the state tournament, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Heritage Hills High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Braxton Schaefer.
