The Gehlen Catholic football team wrapped up the program’s first district title since 2011 with a 56-21 win over South O’Brien on Friday night.
The Jays have had some great teams over the last 13 years, but a district championship has eluded them for a long time. Head coach Jeremy Schindler says it was nice to reach that goal, and now there is more to go after this year.
Gehlen Catholic won the game on the back of their rushing attack once again. This time, the Jays rushed for 501 yards as a team with not a single yard of offense coming through the air. Cole McCarty led the way becoming the second Jay to rush for 300 yards this season when he ran for 307 yards and four scores. Coach Schindler says a combination of strong offensive line play and McCarty’s decision making helped make the big night happen.
South O’Brien made it interesting in the first half cutting the score to 20-14 early in the second quarter. Thanks to two interceptions that followed that point in the game, the Jays were able to take a 41-14 lead into the halftime break. Coach Schindler says being able to make plays on the ball in the air was a point of emphasis leading up to the game.
Gehlen Catholic is now 6-1 and 5-0 in the district. They head into their regular season finale with Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn as the sixth-ranked team in the state. Coach Schindler says the Hawks will run some different things that his guys have to be ready for.
Kickoff will be at 7:00 PM on Friday, October 18 at Jim Lorenzen Field in Le Mars.
