Staff Report

Roncalli Overwhelms Greenwood 56-13 to Advance in IHSAA Playoffs

GREENWOOD, Ind. — Roncalli wasted little time taking control Friday night.

The Royals exploded for 27 points in the opening quarter, added 15 more before halftime and rolled past Greenwood 56-13 in an IHSAA football playoff matchup, extending their winning streak to eight games and advancing to face Mooresville.

What might have looked like a potentially competitive postseason matchup entering the night quickly turned into a showcase for Roncalli.

The Royals came out firing from the opening kickoff, putting Greenwood in a hole before the Woodmen ever had an opportunity to settle into the game.

By the end of the first quarter, Roncalli had built a commanding 27-0 advantage.

And the Royals weren’t finished.

Greenwood finally found the end zone during the second quarter, but any hopes that the touchdown might swing momentum toward the Woodmen were quickly erased. Roncalli answered by adding another 15 points of its own during the period.

By halftime, the Royals had scored 42 points and carried a staggering 42-7 lead into the locker room.

For all practical purposes, the outcome had been decided in the game’s opening 24 minutes.

Quarterback Dominic Cromer was at the center of Roncalli’s offensive explosion. Cromer completed 4 of 5 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns, making the most of nearly every opportunity the Royals gave him.

His primary target was senior Luke Roeder, who caught four passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

The efficiency of Roncalli’s passing game was particularly damaging to Greenwood. The Royals didn’t need a high volume of passes or an abundance of offensive plays to build their enormous advantage. Instead, they produced explosive plays and turned their opportunities into points.

That was the theme throughout the night.

While Greenwood actually ran more offensive plays and possessed the football longer, Roncalli was far more effective when it had the ball. The Woodmen ran 58 plays compared with only 38 for the Royals and held the football for 26:44 compared with Roncalli’s 21:16.

But the scoreboard told a much different story.

Roncalli’s 42-point first half left Greenwood chasing the game throughout the second half.

The pace slowed considerably after halftime, but by then the damage had been done.

Roncalli added another touchdown during the third quarter, pushing the margin to 49-7 and eliminating any realistic possibility of a Greenwood comeback.

Greenwood continued to battle and scored its second touchdown during the fourth quarter, but Roncalli answered with another score of its own to complete the 56-13 victory.

The quarter-by-quarter progression illustrated just how thoroughly Roncalli controlled the game.

The Royals led 27-0 after one quarter and 42-7 at halftime. Their advantage grew to 49-7 after three quarters before both teams scored once in the final period.

Roncalli’s defense also played a significant role in preventing Greenwood from establishing the type of offensive rhythm it had enjoyed one week earlier.

The Royals recorded three sacks, with Legend Williams and Carson Keller among the leaders in applying pressure.

That defensive performance was especially significant considering what Greenwood had done in its previous playoff game.

The Woodmen entered Friday coming off a 45-34 victory over Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, a game in which running back Leland Morton rushed for 199 yards and four touchdowns. Greenwood had shown it was capable of putting points on the board and producing big plays on the ground.

Roncalli never allowed that type of game to develop.

Instead of letting Greenwood dictate the contest with its rushing attack, the Royals seized control immediately with their own offense. Every early score increased the pressure on the Woodmen to respond, and by the time Greenwood finally reached the end zone in the second quarter, the deficit was already substantial.

Roncalli’s ability to score quickly also neutralized Greenwood’s advantage in time of possession. The Woodmen held the ball for more than five additional minutes, yet Roncalli scored more than four times as many points.

The Royals also produced 17 first downs on only 38 offensive plays, compared with Greenwood’s 14 first downs on 58 plays.

If there was a blemish for Roncalli, it came in the penalty department. The Royals were flagged seven times for 70 yards, compared with just three penalties for 20 yards against Greenwood. But even those mistakes did little to slow an offense that was operating at peak efficiency.

For Roncalli, the victory represented another step in a dramatic late-season surge.

The Royals improved to 9-2 and have now won eight consecutive games. More importantly, they remain alive in the state tournament after producing their highest-scoring performance of the season.

Greenwood’s season ends at 4-7.

Roncalli now turns its attention to Mooresville, which advanced with a 22-17 victory over Beech Grove. The Pioneers will enter the matchup with a 7-4 record.

The Royals will bring something even more imposing into that game — momentum.

Roncalli entered Friday night having won seven straight. Less than a quarter into the game, it was apparent that Greenwood was going to have to produce something special to prevent that streak from reaching eight.

By halftime, the question was no longer whether Roncalli would win. It was how large the final margin would become.

A 27-point first-quarter avalanche provided the answer early, and by night’s end Roncalli had turned a playoff game into a 56-13 statement victory.