Roncalli rides powerful ground game past Guerin Catholic, 35-17

Royals rush for 356 yards as Cromer accounts for three touchdowns

Staff Report

INDIANAPOLIS — Roncalli piled up 356 rushing yards and scored in every quarter Friday, powering past visiting Guerin Catholic 35-17 in a Circle City Conference football matchup.

Dominic Cromer rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another as the Royals improved to 3-2. Guerin Catholic fell to 2-3.

Roncalli established a 7-0 first-quarter lead and took a 14-3 advantage into halftime. The Royals extended the margin to 21-3 through three quarters before both teams scored 14 points in the fourth.

Keegan Shaffer led Roncalli’s rushing attack with 103 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Cromer added 100 yards on 10 attempts, while freshman Colton Wildey finished just shy of the century mark with 98 yards on 16 carries. Will Hegwood rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown on five attempts.

Cromer complemented that ground production by completing 13 of 19 passes for 120 yards. Luke Roeder led Roncalli’s receivers with four catches for 44 yards and the team’s lone receiving touchdown.

The Royals finished with 484 yards of total offense. Their control extended beyond yardage: Roncalli collected 29 first downs to Guerin Catholic’s 11, ran 71 offensive plays to the Golden Eagles’ 46 and held possession for 28 minutes, 19 seconds.

Defensively, Jaxson Lawson paced Roncalli with 13 tackles, including two for loss, and recorded a sack and a forced fumble. Carson Keller added nine tackles.

Hegwood also made an impact on defense, intercepting a pass and returning it 41 yards. The Royals recovered two fumbles to finish with three takeaways.