Bishop Chatard adjusts, holds off Northview in gritty sectional game

INDIANAPOLIS − In a tight playoff matchup, third-ranked Bishop Chatard topped Northview, 38-31, Friday night to advance to the Class 4A Sectional 21 championship.With the game in the balance, the Bishop Chatard defense forced a turnover on downs at its own 36-yard line late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.Running back Danny Adams scored two rushing touchdowns and receiver Julio Graves had two receiving touchdowns to fuel the Bishop Chatard offense.Bishop Chatard anticipated a tough game."We knew this was going to be a game that would be hard to win so all week we focused on having hard practices," Bishop Chatard coach Rob Doyle said. "We made sure we stayed tough and never gave up because we knew, come game time, we were going to have to play every last second of that game. Obviously, that showed as the game went on. We had the early 17-0 lead, but they came back and scored three touchdowns to take the lead, 21-17. We knew that could have happened, so we were prepared. We were able to score right before half and not fall behind the entire second half."Bishop Chatard (9-2) relied on a familiar halftime approach to maintain the lead and overcome Northview (9-2). A 41-yard touchdown pass from Harrison Odom to Cam Harden on the final play of the second quarter allowed Chatard to take a 24-21 lead going into halftime."We go into halftime the same for every game," Doyle said. "We look at our script to see how we can adjust our game to be better after half. Having that touchdown right before the half definitely helped the game lean in our favor; however, we still had to make the adjustments. We were able to make those adjustments, and it ended up working out and we won 38-31 and the opportunity to play football for another week."Bishop Chatard kept its head down and kept plowing away."We knew we were going to have to grind until the last whistle was blown, said Adams, who scored on an 8-yard touchdown run to give Bishop Chatard a 30-21 lead in the third quarter. "This is a really tough team, and we knew that. This is not like 3A football where we can pretty much blow everyone out like we did a couple of years ago, winning back-to-back state championships in 3A. These games are going to be a dog fight, and like I said, we have to keep our heads down and grind until the end."Despite rushing for approximately 100 yards, Adams believes that he, and the team, could "be better.""I like to hold all of us, especially myself, to a high standard," he said. "We did OK in the rushing game tonight. We can definitely do better, though. I really like to take it with the 'not good enough' mindset because it motivates me to be better. Next week, while we are preparing for Danville, my goal for practice will to be better until I feel satisfied. My goal is to never be satisfied so I am always working my hardest to be better."Bishop Chatard will take on undefeated and seventh-ranked Danville (11-0) for the Class 4A Sectional 21 title on Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bishop Chatard adjusts, holds off Northview in gritty sectional game