Christian Brothers College rolls in road win at Bishop Chatard
By Phillip B. Wilson
INDIANAPOLIS — Christian Brothers College lived up to its reputation as a high-powered Missouri juggernaut which was bigger, stronger and faster than host Bishop Chatard on Friday night.
The only question was how much would the outmanned home underdogs fight? Chatard fell behind early but hung around, closing the deficit to 10 points in the second quarter.
That’s when Christian Brothers showed why the Cadets are Class 6 defending state champions and ranked No. 1 in Missouri. That’s also when talented senior running back Jeremiyah Love kicked into high gear with three consecutive touchdown runs, including a 32-yard burst to close the first half.
Love’s only second-half carry was for a 15-yard TD on the opening possession to push the advantage to 31 and the Cadets cruised to an impressive 55-24 road triumph.
The Cadets (5-1) rushed for 290 yards on 31 carries. Love needed just eight carries to go for 102 yards and three scores.
“I feel like he was made in a lab,” Chatard senior linebacker and team captain Isaac Fischer said of Love. “They have three guys who are probably the fastest guys I’ve ever seen on a field. We haven’t seen speed like that. We won’t see speed like that again. (Love) was really good. I know he’s got (college) offers. He can go wherever he wants.”
CBC senior running back Dylan Van added 94 yards rushing on just seven carries with two TDs.
“Everybody knows him, he’s a big star right now,” Van said of Love, “but I think I’ve got every move he’s got.”
Cadets coach Scott Pingel was aware the Trojans had a lot of two-way players and was confident his team could wear down a feisty foe. Christian Brothers returned three talented running backs as well as a massive offensive line with 290-pound blockers, so as Pingel said, “that was going to butter our bread.”
Love was actually hard on himself afterward, saying he graded his effort as a “B.”
“My game, I could have done better,” he said. “We try to stay humble. We always put in the work and stay disciplined. We know we’re a good team, but I don’t think we’re a state championship-winning team yet. We’ve still got a little more work to do. We’ve got to have more discipline.”
It’s safe to say others were more impressed by the back’s ability to swiftly shift past tacklers, making so many grab air.
“They were so fast offensively, our kids were there and our kids couldn’t catch ‘em,” said Chatard coach Rob Doyle Sr. “Offensively, we put points on the board. Against a normal team, that’s a pretty good night. We just couldn’t keep up with their speed.”
Pingel conceded Love is fun to watch.
“He’s pretty special,” the Cadets coach said. “There were times we were running inside zone, he just sees something and bounces outside. It’s instinctive. We keep telling our linemen, keep blocking because we don’t know where he’s going to hit it.”
What also helped the visitors this night was a solid passing game as junior quarterback Cole McKey completed 13 of 17 passes for 153 yards and two TDs. Junior wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan opened the scoring with a 51-yard TD reception and later added a 6-yard TD rush early in the second quarter to make it 20-3.
“We left a couple out there, but I thought our guys bounced back when things weren’t going well,” Pingel said. “This is the first time our quarterback has done a nice job of running the entire offense and throwing it well, so I’m excited about the future.”
Chatard (4-3) fought back with its passing game. Senior quarterback Drew VanFleet completed 23 of 37 passes for 212 yards and two TDs. VanFleet threw a 1-yard TD pass to Jef Waugh and a 28-yard scoring strike to Colin Guy.
The Trojans needed to air it out because the ground game managed just 38 yards on 22 carries.
“We told our kids, ‘Hey, it’s a big challenge. Just fight as hard as you can. We’re going to play Chatard football and we’re going to hit ‘em,’” the Trojans coach said. “We did that, but they have such an overwhelming level of talent. You’ve got seven or eight Division I kids like they do, that’s a tough call for a normal team.
“We’ll never see another team that good and I expect our kids to play with toughness and character, which they did, they always do, that’s the mark of our program. Most nights, that’s going to carry us home. Against a team like that, I’m not sure what else we could have done.”
Christian Brothers College at Bishop Chatard football
Mark Evrard, SBLive Sports
