By Mark Ambrogi
For The Republic
INDIANAPOLIS — Roncalli football coach Eric Quintana is watching as sophomore quarterback Collin Ash grows with each game.
“Collin Ash played a great game,” Quintana said. “He managed the game well and made smart decisions. He made good throws.”
Ash threw for two touchdown passes and ran for another Friday night to lead Class 4A No. 8 Roncalli to a 38-10 victory over Columbus North. Ash completed 16 of 20 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior Ben Bradenburg ran for 124 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns for the Royals (2-2). Junior Rogan Benish rushed for 70 yards on 14 carries.
“Rogan did a good job,” Quintana said. “All those running backs work extremely hard. They have a different set of abilities. They maximize every single day. It was good to see those guys progress and see some good holes.”
“We prepared well all week,” Quintana said. “We’re starting to get a little more healthy. The young guys are getting experience with film time and walk-through. We had a great week of preparation and it showed.”
Roncalli scored the first 21 points before the Bull Dogs scored the final 10 points of the first half in the final two-plus minutes. The Royals outscored North (2-2) 17-0 in the second half.
“It’s disappointing, we thought we had some momentum going into halftime and coming out knowing we were going to get the football,” Bull Dogs coach Logan Haston said. “We came out went three and out on offense, and they got a big score. For our young team, that was a turning point for us. We didn’t do a great job responding to that. We have to do a better job preserving through those things.”
Brandenburg scored from 1 yard out with 8:10 left in the third quarter to boost the lead to 28-10. Ash added 6-yard TD run with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, and Roncalli’s final score came on Levi Wisler’s 36-yard field goal with 54 seconds left.
The Royals were slowed by 12 penalties for 100.5 yards in the first half, while the Bull Dogs were whistled for seven penalties for 45 yards.
Brandenburg scored on a 38-yard run with 9:50 left in the first quarter. The Royals pushed the lead to 14-0 on Ash’s 14-yard TD pass to Charlie Elsener with 10:01 left in the second quarter.
Ash’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Christian Swiezy gave the Royals a 21-0 lead to 5:34 to go in the second quarter. Swiezy finished with four catches for 90 yards.
The Bull Dogs scored on an 8-yard reverse by Braylon Thoman with 2:15 remaining before halftime.
The Royals then muffed a punt with 1:13 and the Bull Dogs recovered on the Royals’ 38. North eventually scored on a 27-yard field goal by Bryce Luttrell as time expired in the first half.
“In the first half, even though the game didn’t start the way we wanted to, our sideline energy stayed positive,” Haston said. “Our team culture stayed positive. We knew we weren’t out of the game. It’s something to build upon. It’s something we can learn from.”
The Royals finished with 18 penalties for 155.5 yards while the Bull Dogs had nine penalties for 68 yards.
“We’ve got to clean up that side,” Quintana said. “I’m not going to go too much in on the refs. They do the best job that they can. We made some mistakes on our end. We have to be a more disciplined football team.”
Bull Dogs sophomore quarterback Asher Ratliff completed 13 of 25 passes for 62 yards with two interceptions. Junior Gino Prescott led North’s rushing attack with 43 yards on seven carries.
