Carmel rolls past Penn in 5A football final

INDIANAPOLIS | Brandon Denning passed for 143 yards and ran for 60 more to help No. 2 Carmel defeat No. 3 Penn 54-0 in the Class 5A state final Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Adam Kehoe set a 5A finals record with 11 catches. He finished with 123 yards receiving and a touchdown. Jalen Duncan added 110 yards rushing for the Greyhounds (14-1), who gained 438 yards in the most lopsided 5A title game ever.

Carmel coach Kevin Wright became the fifth coach in state history to win state titles at two different schools. Wright won titles at Warren Central in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Carmel held Penn to 186 yards while completing one of the toughest roads to a title in state history. 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.

Class 4A

Indianapolis Cathedral 42, South Bend Washington 7: Gino Gillum ran for 180 yards and four touchdowns to help Indianapolis Cathedral defeat South Bend Washington for the Class 4A title.

Gillum tied the Class 4A record for touchdowns scored in a championship game in Saturday's game. The Irish took a 35-0 lead before the Panthers' first score early in the fourth quarter, when South Bend Washington's Gehrig Dieter scored on a 54-yard touchdown pass.

Dieter had 168 yards receiving on just five receptions, breaking the Class 4A championship game record of 147 receiving yards.

South Bend Washington backup quarterback Kelly Kolat threw an interception early in the fourth quarter that was returned for a touchdown.

That came after the Irish scored to take a 28-0 lead after the Panthers fumbled the ball.

Class 3A

Chatard 21, South Bend St. Joseph's 7: Ryan Kleinschmidt rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns to help Indianapolis Chatard defeat South Bend St. Joseph's for the Class 3A championship.

Max VanVliet passed for 124 yards Saturday for Chatard (13-2), which won its second straight title and third in five years

Fort Wayne Luers beat Evansville Mater Dei in the 2A final on Friday to tie Chatard for the most titles in state history, but the Trojans reclaimed sole possession of the mark by holding the Indians to 222 total yards.

Nick Carmola passed for 143 yards and ran for a score for St. Joseph's (12-3).

It was a rematch of last year's final, which Chatard won 28-14 after Kleinschmidt tied a 3A finals record with 247 yards rushing.