Guerin Catholic’s Jack Linden has rushed for 759 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. (Mike Navarro/File photo)
By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
No. 16 Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles (7-4) at No. 3 Cascade Cadets (11-0)
The Golden Eagles will face a new opponent for the sectional championship. The two have never met in football.
Both are in droughts since their last sectional titles. Guerin won its last in 2014, but has appeared in two since and Cascade has just one (1992) overall in its history and has played in just one in the last 33 seasons.
Guerin Catholic has been playing extremely well since mid-season and what better time to do so than the present. A three-game losing skid to Roncalli, Bishop Chatard and Pike had them at 3-4 and trying to find their bearings. That’s exactly what they did in the four games since.
The current four-game win streak over Culver Academy (35-21), Lafayette Central Catholic (59-28), Hamilton Heights (36-21) and Crawfordsville (45-7) has the Golden Eagles playing their best football of the season, averaging 43.8 points and giving up 19.2.
Quarterback Quentin Klee is having quite the season. The senior signal caller is 208 of 338 (61.5 percent) for 2,597 yards and has 21 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Klee’s also second in rushing with 242 yards and a score.
Jack Linden has 759 yards and 13 TDs on the ground. Linden scored four times last week against Crawfordsville and did the same two games prior against Central Catholic. He’s also a threat to catch passes with 32 receptions, 355 yards and three scores.
Isaiah Lewis is having a tremendous junior season with 851 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore Kolbe Klee has caught 47 passes for 547 yards and six TDs. Aiden Horn has quietly caught 36 for 440 yards and a pair of scores. Trevor Macey has also been clutch with 292 yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore linebacker Erik Sorensen is closing in on 100 tackles with 97, while classmate Matthew Hennie has five sacks. James Moody leads a feisty secondary with three interceptions and has also blocked two field goals. Nolan Ratcliff has a pair of picks and deflected seven passes and JB Ford also has two interceptions, 11 pass deflections and two fumble recoveries.
The task will be tall, but is very doable tonight on the road for Guerin Catholic. The Cadets play a mainly 2A schedule (six of the nine regular season games). Their biggest win was at 4A Danville in Week 2 (41-26) and showed no mercy against 4A Frankfort (77-0) and two weeks ago in the first round of Sectional 29 against 3A Indianapolis Washington (58-0). They also dominated Guerin’s semifinal opponent Crawfordsville (55-3) in the regular season.
Offensively, Cascade is a great mix of run and pass that help them average 57.4 points per outing.
Quarterback Brady Trebley is 99 of 132 (75 percent) for 1,642 yards, 25 touchdowns and has yet to throw an interception. Trebley also has six rushing touchdowns and 196 yards.
Cascade has a quartet of rushers in the backfield that make a difference. Dayton Mink has 761 yards and 16 TDs, Toby Savini has rushed for 649 and 11 touchdowns, Lucas Farmer 598 and 10 scores and Marcus Hobson 221 and five TDs.
Hobson is the leading receiver with 29 catches for 587 yards and 13 touchdowns scored. Savini also has reeled in 24 for 385 and two scores.
Timothy Turner, Jr. leads the Cadets on defense with 84 tackles (66 solo), eight sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and five pass deflections. Hobson, Farmer and Michael Langley all have three interceptions.
*If Guerin Catholic wins, the Golden Eagles would host the regional against either Lawrenceburg or Greensburg.
