The game will be close. I of course, take Covington Catholic. Big rebound game for them, and did I mention home field advantage? 

Cathedral is a tough team to figure out, it’s a question of which team shows up.  They beat a really bad Ben Davis team (1-6 & were just blown out 43-0 to Carmel) by just one score to start the year & were blown out by Brownsburg in what many thought would be a much more competitive game.  Granted, Brownsburg is the #1 team in Indiana & the defending 6A champs.  However, as of late, it appears they are on track with victories over a tough Center Grove team & Trotwood-Madison, who owns a win this year over Springfield (Trinitys annual scrimmage opponent).  I think this game is competitive, but in the end, Cathedral win by 2 TDs.

2 minutes ago, Unrivaled97 said:

Cathedral is a tough team to figure out, it’s a question of which team shows up.  They beat a really bad Ben Davis team (1-6 & were just blown out 43-0 to Carmel) by just one score to start the year & were blown out by Brownsburg in what many thought would be a much more competitive game.  Granted, Brownsburg is the #1 team in Indiana & the defending 6A champs.  However, as of late, it appears they are on track with victories over a tough Center Grove team & Trotwood-Madison, who owns a win this year over Springfield (Trinitys annual scrimmage opponent).  I think this game is competitive, but in the end, Cathedral win by 2 TDs.

One thing is for sure, Cathedral plays a big boy schedule. 

13 minutes ago, theguru said:

One thing is for sure, Cathedral plays a big boy schedule. 

Absolutely & one thing that also helps that is they’re not handcuffed by a conference / district which requires them to play certain teams!

3 minutes ago, Unrivaled97 said:

Absolutely & one thing that also helps that is they’re not handcuffed by a conference / district which requires them to play certain teams!

Right, they play a schedule that suits them. 

Also on their schedule, CovCath is considered a bunny, lol. 

6 hours ago, Momofboyz said:

I forsee Cash Harney and Dylan Gaiser racking up those yards. Both are fierce on the field. 

Gaiser is so good. He had a play at corner last week where he was 1 on 2 on a screen in space and he made the lineman miss coming at him and tackled the ball carrier for like a 1 yard gain. 

I also definitely hope to see the team use him more in the passing game like they did last week. He's a real threat out of the backfield. 

CovCath by 3 in a highly competitive game. 

5 hours ago, theguru said:

One thing is for sure, Cathedral plays a big boy schedule. 

 

Roll Colonels!

On 10/6/2025 at 2:14 PM, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

After losing 31-28 on Friday to district arch-rival Highlands in a game that came down to a final play touchdown, Covington Catholic is looking to rebound and return back to a winning record on the season as they welcome the Cathedral Irish from Indianapolis to Park Hills.

Cathedral is currently ranked at #8 in the Indiana-at-large by MaxPreps and is at #7 in the state's 6A (largest school) division. The Irish are a 5A team that opts to play up in class, and they're coming into Friday night's game with a 5-2 record. Their two losses came back on Aug 29th when they lost 29-0 to Indiana's #1 program, Brownsburg (7-0), and then the following week when they lost 24-6 to Ohio's #11 program, Cincinnati St. Xavier (5-2). Cathedral can expect to move up in ranking when the latest polls are released following their 21-15 win on Friday over Indiana's #5 team, Center Grove (6-1).

With 19 seniors and 21 total players currently holding college offers, Cathedral is not short on talent. Their offense, captained by senior QB Cameron Koers, has a total 9 players holding college offers and has averaged 339 yards per game, 173 run/166 pass. Koers is 92-158 (58%) passing on the season, and has thrown for 7 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. With Eastern Michigan commit Van Krisiloff handling field goal and PAT duties for the team, the Irish are consistently a field goal threat behind his career-long 46yd field goal capability - a feat he's managed on three separate occasions, including twice this season. Cathedral has capitalized with their field goal unit 9 times in 7 games played, and Krisiloff is 9-14 on field goals. The Irish defense has 9 players currently holding college offers, including their entire starting defensive line and their entire starting linebacking corps.

Cov Cath will be looking to markedly improve on last week's rushing performance, with QB Cash Harney being held to a scant 11 yards on 14 carries after averaging 102 yards per game and 9.27 yards per carry this season coming into Friday night's loss to Highlands. Senior RB Dylan Gaiser managed his second best game of the season on Friday with 88 yards on 7 carries, but with 99 total yards on the ground in the game, the offense is undoubtedly working hard this week to plan their rushing attack facing Cathedral's impressive defensive front. In the air, the Colonels had their best passing performance of the season against the Bluebirds with 263 yards gained on 9 completions. Defensively, Cov Cath allowed 200 yards passing and 206 yards rushing on Friday, 3 yards shy of season-high 409 total yards allowed to Elder (OH) back on Aug 29, so Coach Brown and the defensive coaching staff will be working to shore things up on D as they prepare for the game on Friday.

Historically, this is only the third time that the Colonel football program has faced off against an opponent from the Hoosier state, with the other two games both taking place against Bishop Chatard high school in a home/away series from the 2017 & 2018 seasons. Cov Cath beat the Trojans 30-7 in Park Hills in 2017, and then traveled to Indianapolis in 2018 to beat Chatard 52-36. Bishop Chatard was beaten by their hometown rival, Cathedral, 4 weeks ago by a 46 yard field goal from Irish kicker Van Krisiloff that sealed the 23-20 win on the final play of the game.

What are your predictions for the game on Friday? Kickoff is currently set for 7:00pm in Park Hills.

Cathedral plays 5A in Indiana. They are ranked #3 in the 5A AP poll. In the previous three seasons, Cathedral did play up a class. However, it was not their choice to play 6A. Indiana uses something called the "Tournament Success Factor." If teams have a certain amount of postseason success over a two-year period, they have to move up a class. Cathedral won the 5A state championship in 2020 and 2021. This resulted in their bump up to 6A. However, more recent postseason results have led to them being moved back down to 5A. If you went by enrollment alone, Cathedral would actually be a 4A team.

Welcome to BGP @FootballFanNKY!

On 10/6/2025 at 2:24 PM, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Here's a look at Cathedral's recruited players:

Noah Beasley (WR, '26) - Hanover, Marian
Samuel Byrd (DL, '26) - Hanover, St. Mary of the Woods
Alex Couch (DB/LB, '26) - Butler, Wabash
Aiden Flournoy (LB Edge, '26) - Gannon, St. Francis
Kyle Harden (LB, '26) - Indianapolis, St. Mary of the Woods, Pikeville
Jackson Harvey (WR/LS, '26) - Butler University Commit
Zyon Hill (DB, '26) - Ball State, Butler, Sacramento State, Western Illinois
Trey Jefferson (OL, '26) - Gannon, North Park
Cameron Koers (QB, '26) - DePauw, Wabash
Van Krisloff (K/P, '26) - Eastern Michigan University Commit
Henry Lewis (K, '26) - Butler University Commit
Charlie Long (LB, '26) - Hanover, Wabash
Kaiden Marten (OL, '26) - Central State, Franklin College, Gannon, St. Francis, St. Mary of the Woods, Trine, Wabash
Eamonn Minch (OL, '26) - Hanover
Tim Onghetich (DB, '28) - Toledo
Jimmy Pappas (RB, '26) - Hanover
Owen Peterson (TE, '27) - Miami (OH)
Michael Pugh II (LB/Edge, '26) - Butler, Gannon, Mount St. Joseph, St. Francis, St. Mary of the Woods, Wabash
Lazzy Tipton (DT, '26) - Hanover, St. Francis, St. Mary of the Woods, Trine
Nate Van Vierzen (TE/WR, '26) - DePauw
Jack Watko (LB/DE, '26) - Anderson, St. Mary of the Woods, Wabash

19 Seniors with at least one college offer is unreal. Sure most of them are D3,NAIA but still. 

1 minute ago, JuanHenry1997 said:

19 Seniors with at least one college offer is unreal. Sure most of them are D3,NAIA but still. 

I thought the same thing, Cathedral should be solid everywhere. 

I like the sound of a "Tournament Success Factor". That would make things interesting.  

2 hours ago, FootballFanNKY said:

Cathedral plays 5A in Indiana. They are ranked #3 in the 5A AP poll. In the previous three seasons, Cathedral did play up a class. However, it was not their choice to play 6A. Indiana uses something called the "Tournament Success Factor." If teams have a certain amount of postseason success over a two-year period, they have to move up a class. Cathedral won the 5A state championship in 2020 and 2021. This resulted in their bump up to 6A. However, more recent postseason results have led to them being moved back down to 5A. If you went by enrollment alone, Cathedral would actually be a 4A team.

What does the "Tournament Success Factor" do with the 6A teams, kick them out?