Fort Wayne Luers, Lafayette Central Catholic win state football titles

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Both Fort Wayne Luers and Lafayette Central Catholic schools won their third straight state football titles Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

In the early game Friday, Lafayette Central Catholic's Danny Anthrop ran for 255 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Knights past Indianapolis Scecina 38-7 for Indiana's Class A football crown.

The Purdue-bound Anthrop ran 68 yards for a score on Central's first possession Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium. He also had a 1-yard TD run to cap a 99-yard drive and a 41-yard scoring run.

Central (15-0) becomes the first school to go undefeated three consecutive seasons since the state tournament began in 1973 and has the second longest winning streak in state history with 45 straight victories.

Quarterback Robert Rennick of Scecina (11-4) completed five of 12 passed for 86 yards. Matt Deering caught three of those passes for 77 yards.

Later Friday, James Knapke passed for 190 yards and two touchdowns to help Fort Wayne Luers beat Evansville Mater Dei 41-17 and claim its third straight Class 2A title.

With his ninth championship, Luers coach Matt Lindsay tied Sheridan coach Bud Wright for the most by a coach. Luers' 10 titles ties Indianapolis Chatard's record for state championships. Chatard plays Saturday in the 3A final against South Bend St. Joseph's.

Jaylon Smith ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and Matthew Williamson added seven catches for 65 yards for Luers (13-1). Knapke, a Bowling Green commitment, also ran for 24 yards for the Knights.

Dane Maurer passed for 126 yards and ran for 79 and Cody Hess added 106 yards rushing for the Wildcats (13-2).

The larger schools' teams will face off Saturday, and there might never have been a tougher road to a state title game as the one Carmel took through the Class 5A playoffs.

Carmel beat Perry Meridian, No. 10 Lawrence Central, No. 1 Warren Central, No. 5 Indianapolis Ben Davis and rival Center Grove to reach the final.

The second-ranked Greyhounds (13-1) will try to finish the run against No. 3 Penn (14-0) Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"You're battle-tested," Carmel coach Kevin Wright said. "You're not going to see anything that you probably haven't seen from an Xs and Os standpoint."

Carmel trailed by 17 or more points at halftime in three of its past seven games. The Greyhounds trailed Warren Central 20-0 in the second quarter before prevailing 34-30.

"From a mental standpoint, I think that even if we get behind, it's not going to rattle us, it's not going to shake us, we're going to keep playing through adversity," Wright said.

Those tough games have left the Greyhounds a little bruised up, but the benefit outweighs the aches and pains.

"One of the concerns was having enough gas left in the tank emotionally and physically to keep playing," Wright said. "Our kids, they've got a God-given resiliency that I don't think a lot of people may have. They've found a way to win in different scenarios and different ways. Sometimes, that's what you've got to do to win championships."

In Saturday's other title games, Class 4A No. 9 South Bend Washington (11-3), with record-setting receiver Gehrig Dieter, will play defending champion and No. 2-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral (11-3) and Class 3A No. 1 Indianapolis Chatard will defend its title against No. 6 South Bend St. Joseph's in a rematch of last year's title game.

In 4A, Cathedral comes off a 62-7 win over Columbus East and top quarterback prospect Gunner Kiel. Gino Gillum has rushed for 1,229 yards and 19 scores and Corey Babb has thrown for 1,709 yards.

All eyes will be on South Bend Washington's Dieter. He set the national record with 437 yards in the Panthers' 63-10 victory over Elkhart Central, and has a state-record 2,003 yards receiving. He will be making official visits to Oregon and Southern Methodist.

"What makes him so good is he is a great ball tracker," Washington coach Antwon Jones said. "He runs great routes. He's faster than people think he is. He's a natural-born football player. He is 100 percent football player. I think he's the best in the nation."

In Class 3A, Chatard boasts a balanced attack. Max VanVliet has passed for 2,166 yards and 27 touchdowns, and Ryan Kleinschmidt has rushed for 1,593 yards and 14 scores. David Arsenault leads St Joseph's with 1,471 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns.