In the last three years the Cathedral Royal Irish have made the NIT final three times, winning twice.

In 2012, Cathedral dominated with an offense that just didn’t debate from the plan. They out-rucked everyone and won by a wide margin. In 2013 the Royal Irish were undone by an excellent United team - the team they shut out the year before.

The 2014 team found success not in offense, but in defense. In their NIT final against Santa Monica, they pitched a shutout, winning 14-0. 

“When we came into this season I didn’t know how we would fill all the holes,” said Head Coach Scott Peterson. “That 2012 team was the best team I’d ever seen on a high school level. This year I knew we ad some good leaders, but we were different. But what both teams had was toughness and a will to win.”

And it all came down to defense. In six games in the Indiana HS Super League, Cathedral gave up only 36 points. In the NIT they gave up 17 points to Sierra Foothills, one try to Danville, and none to Santa Monica. They followed that up with the Indiana playoffs, beating Brownsburg 57-12 and then penn 5-3. Those last two games were not perfect performances, said Peterson, but the defense, more than anything, remained in the muscle memory.

“I think the NIT games were all tough and the first game, against Sierra Foothills, was really tough for us,” said Peterson, whose squad gave up their most points in any game against the Californian team. “After that you could see the guys just decide they were going to win. They put in huge hits and just put their bodies on the line. It was always about the defense.”

Leading the way was flanker Will Schroeder, who was a tackling machine and the soul of the forwards. Jake Ney, Noah Schrader, and Brian Hannon were also all big players for Cathedral through the season. 

But looking back, Peterson also credited his league. Indiana’s Super League includes only four teams, but all four of them are nationally-ranked - Cathedral, Penn, Notre Dame de la Salette, and Brownsburg.

“All of the teams are really good, and it’s a really tough league,” said Peterson. “Not everyone is able to have a league with so many tough games. The guys did a great job and really worked on their defense, but having these teams in this league - it helps.”