Indiana Preps | On The Line — Week 9 Game of the Week
There are regular-season finales that feel like tune-ups.
This is not one of them.
No. 16 Roncalli travels to St. Leon on Friday night to face No. 10 East Central in the Indiana Preps Game of the Week, putting two of Class 4A’s most established programs together one week before the tournament begins.
East Central enters 7-1. Roncalli is 6-2. Both have won five straight.
And there is a reasonable chance this is not the last time these two programs matter to each other this fall.
East Central sits atop the latest IFCA Class 4A coaches poll, receiving nine of the 10 first-place votes. Roncalli is No. 5 in that poll — behind Bishop Chatard, Bishop Dwenger and East Noble. In the Indiana Preps Power 25, East Central is No. 10 and Roncalli No. 16.
The rankings give East Central the edge. The recent history says this matchup rarely needs one.
Roncalli Has Had East Central’s Number
Friday continues a series that has become one of the more useful late-season measuring sticks in Class 4A.
Roncalli has won five of the last seven meetings dating to 2020. The Royals won 34-27 in 2020 and 35-21 in 2021. In 2022, Roncalli won the regular-season meeting 21-19 before East Central got the one that mattered more — beating the Royals 24-21 in overtime in the semi-state on the way to a state championship.
East Central flipped it completely in 2023, beating Roncalli 41-7 during a 15-0 state-title season.
Roncalli answered the last two years. The Royals won 17-7 at East Central in 2024 and beat the Trojans 28-16 last season.
That makes Friday more than another ranked matchup. East Central has spent much of the past five years establishing itself as one of the standards in 4A. Roncalli has been one of the teams consistently capable of making that standard uncomfortable.
East Central’s Offense Starts on the Ground
There is not much mystery to what East Central wants to do.
The Trojans run the football. And right now, Ryan Minges is driving it. The senior enters Friday averaging 126.1 rushing yards per game with 17 rushing touchdowns. Colton Bellman gives East Central another major option at 80.4 yards per game with 11 total touchdowns.
Last week against Columbus North, the combination was enough to control the game. Bellman rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown. Minges added 77 yards and three scores as East Central won 35-13 and extended its winning streak to five.
The season has been built around that physical identity. East Central ran for 204 yards in its 14-6 win over New Palestine. The Trojans have scored 38, 24, 70 and 35 points during their current winning streak.
They do not need the passing game to carry the night. They need the run game to keep dictating it. That puts the pressure directly on Roncalli’s front seven.
Roncalli’s Defense Has Been Setting the Terms
Roncalli’s season changed after the 42-14 loss to Bishop Chatard.
The Royals have not lost since — beating Columbus North 27-15, Guerin Catholic 35-17, Brebeuf 25-0, New Palestine 20-6 and Harrison 42-6. The last three games have been especially telling.
Brebeuf managed just 44 rushing yards. New Palestine was held to 80. Harrison finished with 111 total yards.
That is the matchup inside the matchup Friday. East Central wants to establish the line of scrimmage. Roncalli has spent the last month taking that away from people.
Senior linebacker Carson Keller leads the Royals at around 10 tackles per game. Jaxson Lawson has been another consistent producer, while Nolan Denney has helped anchor the defensive front. Against Harrison, Lawson finished with nine tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack. Denney and Will Clark added sacks as Roncalli controlled the game from the beginning.
That group now gets Minges and Bellman. This is exactly the kind of test both sides need before the bracket starts.
Alex Jarvis Has Given Roncalli Its Own Answer on the Ground
Roncalli does not arrive in St. Leon planning to throw it around 40 times either.
Alex Jarvis has become the center of the offense. Against New Palestine, Jarvis carried 36 times for 165 yards and a touchdown as Roncalli controlled the line of scrimmage in a 20-6 win. Last week, he needed only 14 carries to produce 137 yards and three touchdowns against Harrison. That is 302 rushing yards across the last two games.
Roncalli has also gotten production through multiple quarterbacks and enough vertical offense to punish defenses that crowd the box. Kallen Stahley went 3-for-4 for 91 yards last week, including a 57-yard touchdown to Mikey Dillon. Luke Roeder caught a touchdown as well.
That balance matters against East Central. The Trojans’ defense has playmakers at every level — Will Graf leads the team in tackles per game, Chase McCracken is among the leaders in sacks and Andersen Deters has three interceptions.
Roncalli cannot expect to win this one by becoming one-dimensional. Neither can East Central.
And Then There Is the Tournament
Friday does not determine anything about the sectional bracket. It might tell us plenty about November.
Roncalli is in Sectional 22 with Beech Grove, Connersville, Greenwood, Crispus Attucks, Martinsville, Mooresville and Richmond. East Central headlines the seven-team Sectional 23 with Charlestown, Columbus East, Jennings County, Madison, Shelbyville and Silver Creek.
Both should be considered the team to beat in their respective sectionals. Win those, and the roads begin moving toward each other.
That possibility gives Friday another layer. These teams know each other. They know what this matchup has looked like when it has been a regular-season game. They also know what happened in 2022, when they played once in October and met again with a trip to the state championship on the line.
Roncalli won the first one. East Central won the second.
Nobody needs that history explained inside either locker room.
One Last Test Before October Becomes Elimination Football
East Central has won seven games and sits at the top of Class 4A. Roncalli has won five straight and just held New Palestine and Harrison to 12 combined points.
Minges and Bellman against Roncalli’s front. Jarvis against East Central’s defense.
Two teams that expect to be playing well beyond next week. A recent series that has already produced state-championship implications. This is not about building momentum against an overmatched opponent. It is about finding out where you stand against someone who might still matter in November.
That is why Roncalli at East Central is the Indiana Preps Game of the Week.
Friday night is the regular-season finale. It may also be a preview.
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