BY JOHN P. WISE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ST. LEON, Ind. - Ross Ewing's point-after attempt was blocked with 36 seconds to go in regulation Friday night, preserving Indianapolis Cathedral's 14-13 victory over East Central in the Indians 4A state semifinals.
"I saw him coming, but there really isn't anything you can do," said Ewing, who played his last game Friday at East Central. It was the first time Ewing had a kick blocked all year.
Cathedral's George Allen, who blocked the kick, also was a hero on offense for the Fighting Irish. He scored on a pair of five-yard touchdown runs, including the go-ahead score with just 1:13 left that made the score 12-7. Scott Peterson's two-point conversion run made it 14-7.
When quarterback J.D. Vonderheide took the field with 1:09 left, he just needed to take his team 58 yards. After a razzle-dazzle incompletion on first down, Vonderheide completed a pair of passes that put the Trojans at the Cathedral 16-yard line.
On the next play, Vonderheide lobbed a pass to the corner of the end zone, which was caught by John Kathman. That set up the dramatic point-after attempt.
The game-winning drive for Cathedral, led by sophomore quarterback Kyle McGrath, did not look like it was being conducted by a sophomore. McGrath led the offense onto the field with less than three minutes left, and the ball at the Fighting Irish one-yard line.
"I felt I had to pull through for the seniors," said McGrath, who completed six straight passes to take his team to the East Central one-yard line. The big blow was a 44-yard strike to classmate Otis Shannon to put the ball at the 1.
