It was rainy. It was cold. Yet, for Roncalli, it did not matter.

The Royals jumped out to an early lead on an eight-minute opening drive and did not look back, retaining control of the game for the entirety of their 42-14 thrashing of reigning 3A champs, Heritage Hills.

“It’s just been the way we prepared,” head coach Sam Otley said. “We know we want to get the football. We want to be aggressive, and we just want to score the ball.”

While the offense shone bright in the second half, it was the Royal defense that impressed throughout the night. Holding a Patriot offense averaging nearly 50 points per game to just 14, while forcing several turnovers.

“They played fast and physical,” Otley said. “That’s a heck of an offense that presented tremendous challenges, but I’m just proud of the way that our guys got lined up, made reads and played Roncalli defense.”

It was junior running back Alex Jarvis who got the scoring started in the first quarter before senior quarterback Collin Ash found junior receiver Luke Roeder for the first of his four touchdowns in the second quarter. With a 14-0 deficit, senior ATH Jett Goldsberry was able to command a scoring drive down the field to go into the locker room 14-7.

However, to open up the second half, an injury to junior returner Karsen Pund on the kickoff led to a Roncalli fumble recovery, opening the doors for its second-half surge.

Ash would follow the unfortunate Patriot miscue into two third-quarter rushing touchdowns and an early fourth-quarter toss to Mikey Dillon to balloon the lead to 35-7.

“He’s a heck of a football player and he’s an even better young man,” Otley said. “He’s the leader for the offense. Just everything he does, it’s with a competitor’s heart, and he’s got the ability to take the guys with him when he’s executing on the field.”

Roncalli punches its ticket back to Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time since 2020, seeking the program’s 11th state title against Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger next weekend— a rematch of week one’s 3-0 slugfest that fell in Roncalli’s favor.

“This group has built a special brotherhood,” Otley said. “It’s a selfless group, and that’s going to be the thing that keeps pushing us forward: playing for each other, understanding who we represent as a Roncalli football tradition and understanding the legacy that they’re building week-in and week-out.”