Football

2010 Season Preview

The 2010 Rebels will be relatively small and extremely inexperienced as the season begins. Sam Otley is the only returning player who started every game last year. Jake Eagan, Jake Norris, Brandon Petree, Miles Millott, Jake Tucker and Evan Rutter each started at least one game last season. In spite of this relative inexperience, the football staff is excited about the upcoming 2010 season. Coach Bruce Scifres says, "This group has worked extremely hard in the off-season. Our upcoming seniors are providing great leadership. They have proven to be dependable, and are one of the most coachable groups we have had during my time at Roncalli. With their great attitudes, we can accomplish great things!"

Football News

Roncalli ends 5-game skid in series by taking out Class 3A No. 1 team

by: Nat Newell, Indianapolis Star Writer
Published: Sep 07, 2010

Roncalli running back Brandon Petree lay on the turf gasping for breath . . . but the air that had just been violently forced from his lungs was the push his team needed.

Petree caught a 38-yard pass from Brian Soller with six seconds left in the first half and drew a personal foul penalty when a Bishop Chatard defensive back appeared to lead with his helmet, knocking the wind out of Petree and moving the ball to the Trojans 20-yard line. It set up a 38-yard Drew Oehrle field goal and ignited a comeback from a 16-point deficit to a 20-16 victory for the previously winless Rebels over Class 3A No. 1 Bishop Chatard on Friday night.

"I hadn't beaten Chatard in my years here, (and) nobody thought we could do it, but we did it," said Petree (199 yards of offense, two touchdowns) with tears in his eyes after ending a five-game losing streak to one of his team's biggest rivals.

Before Petree's catch, Roncalli (1-2) had 18 yards of offense on 15 plays while Bishop Chatard had kicked field goals on its first three possessions, and then driven 69 yards over 5 minutes, 57 seconds to score a touchdown and take a seemingly commanding 16-0 lead with 24 seconds to play the half.

But Roncalli's defense forced a three-and-out to start the second half and Petree went 53 yards on the next play from scrimmage to cut the deficit to 16-10 with 9:45 remaining in the third quarter.

Two possessions later, the Rebels recovered a fumble and, on their third play, Petree broke a 52-yard TD run. Oehrle's extra point put his team ahead 17-16 with 11:49 to play. Of Roncalli's 245 yards of offense, 143 came on the three plays by Petree.

Bishop Chatard (2-1) drove to the Roncalli 31 on the ensuing possession, but Kevin Harrington made an interception. Oehrle later added a field goal and the Rebels knocked down a last-second pass into the end zone to clinch the victory.

Roncalli went 47-12 between 2002 and '05, winning three 4A state championships and finishing as runner-up once. But the Rebels had a 21-20 record with a single postseason victory over the past four seasons, then opened this season 0-2.

"It's been a challenge," Roncalli coach Bruce Scifres said. "We were the first team in the state of Indiana to play for the championship four years in a row. People expect that to happen every year.

"The tide has swung a little bit and it's hard not to carry on with the same kind of success. This is probably the least experienced team I've coached, but the progress we've made from Week 1 to Week 3 is phenomenal."

Call Star reporter Nat Newell at (317) 444-6045.

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• Roncalli ends 5-game skid in series by taking out Class 3A No. 1 team
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Football Scoreboard

The following shows scores from the past 10 days (Aug 29, 2010 - Sep 08, 2010).