After a long day of state championship football, the Zionsville Eagles took on the Cathedral Fighting Irish to decide who will become 5A state champions. Cathedral looked close to unstoppable throughout the season disregarding one game against powerhouse Center Grove. For Zionsville, they came into the tournament with an unimpressive 4-5 record. Now, after a greatly impressive postseason they sought revenge over a loss to Cathedral in the 2020 state championship. 

   Zionsville started strong out of the tunnel. Christian Abney delivered a strike to Trey Firestone on a 17-yard pass to put the Eagles into the end zone first and up by 7. Cathedral had an answer of their own on the following drive as Daniel O’Neil threw a quick 5-yard dart to wide receiver Jaron Tibbs for a touchdown. The game was tied at 7 through one quarter. 

   Cathedral’s Seth Mencer is the next to add to the scoreboard after running 10 yards through the middle and leading to the Irish first lead of the night. Zionsville drove down the field before stalling out near the 25-yard line. AJ Vinatieri’s 42-yard field goal is missed wide left and Zionsville goes into the locker room down 7-14 against Cathedral. 

   After receiving the ball in the second half, Cathedrals Ben Gomez booted a short field goal at the end of the drive to expand the lead to two possessions. Cathedral began to run away from the game when Michael Page pushed himself into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown. 

Trey Firestone found himself in the end zone on a 30-yard seam over the middle giving the Eagles hope to stay in the game. Zionsville’s hope was short-lasted as Daniel O’Neil connected with Jaron Tibbs in the end zone just 10 yards out. Cathedral led 31-14 with just 6 minutes left. Ben Gomez kicked a 40-yard field goal with just two minutes on the clock and Cathedral’s miraculous season ended perfectly as they were crowned 5A State Champions defeating Zionsville 34-14!