Westfield got a tough season-opening assignment on Friday, as Cathedral came to Riverview Health Stadium.
The Class 5A No. 3 Irish jumped out to an early lead and carried that momentum to a 56-20 victory. Cathedral led 15-0 after the first quarter, but the Shamrocks got on the board early in the second when Maximus Webster threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Reid Schepers.
The Irish took over after that, scoring three straight touchdowns to take a 36-7 lead into halftime. The third quarter followed roughly the same pattern: Webster sent a 27-yard touchdown pass to Mason Piening early in the period, but Cathedral responded with two more scores of its own. Sean Sullivan made extra-point kicks after both of Westfield’s touchdown scores.
Westfield got one more touchdown, when Nick Talley threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Ian Bruch late in the fourth.
Talley and Webster both had fine passing games, with Talley completing 9 of 14 attempts for 115 yards, and Webster making 7 of 14 for 99 yards. Piening led the receptions list with five. Micah Hauser gained the most rushing yards with 42.
The Shamrocks will play again at Riverview Health Stadium next week, the first of a three-game homestand to start the season. Westfield welcomes Harrison next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
CATHEDRAL 56, WESTFIELD 20
Score by Quarters
Cathedral 15 21 14 6 – 56
Westfield 0 7 7 6 – 20
Team Stats CHS WHS
First Downs 22 17
By Rush 14 5
By Pass 8 12
By Penalty 0 0
Rushes-Yards 31-224 23-78
Yards Passing 204 178
Comp-Att-Int-TD 17-25-0-5 18-31-2-3
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 8-68 2-57
Punts-Average 0-0.0 4-31.0
Westfield Scoring
Second Quarter
8:58 – Reid Schepers 20-yard pass from Maximus Webster (Sean Sullivan kick)
Third Quarter
10:55 – Mason Piening 27-yard pass from Webster (Sean Sullivan kick)
Fourth Quarter
6:46 – Ian Bruch 15-yard pass from Nick Talley (kick failed)
Westfield individual stats
Rushing: Micah Hauser 7-42, Webster 8-33, Jack Pfeiffer 5-17, Talley 2-3, Cole Ballard 1-2.
Passing: Talley 9-14-114, Webster 7-14-99, Ballard 2-3-minus 35.
Receiving: Piening 5-75, Jackson Wasserstrom 3-29, Nic DePasquale 2-22, Bruch 2-21, Webster 1-30, Schepers 1-20, Pfeiffer 1-10, Hauser 1-6, Steven Wilkos 1-minus 11, Adam Garretson 1-minus 24.