Dons win second section title in a row

On a Friday filled with uncertainty and speculation about the state bowl games, Cathedral Catholic left little doubt about who is the section’s best team – in Division III. The Dons won their second straight section title with a sound 49-13 win over Valhalla at Qualcomm Stadium.

“I don’t know what else we can do to get there. But we’ll see what happens,” said Cathedral Catholic head coach Sean Doyle. “We came here to win a CIF title, we did, and if we get the opportunity to play that next game, that would be awesome.”

A battle between two of the section’s best offenses certainly didn’t look the part in a scoreless first quarter. Valhalla got on the board first a minute into the second quarter on a screen pass from quarterback Pete Thomas to receiver James Leighton.

Behind 6-0, Cathedral Catholic woke up. Six minutes and three touchdowns later, the Dons had a commanding 21-6 lead that they would take into the locker room.

“We know how to calm down after we get all those nerves out,” said Dons quarterback Parker Hipp. “We definitely came to play in the second quarter.”

After the break it was more of the same. Cathedral Catholic running back Tyler Gaffney had two of the Dons’ three touchdowns in the quarter – a 31-yard run and a 45-yard touchdown on a screen pass.

“He knows how to use his jukes left and right,” Parker said of Gaffney. “In the offseason he worked on his vertical game and it definitely paid off tonight.”

Gaffney finished the game with four touchdowns, giving him 51 for the season. Cathedral Catholic (13-0) added a defensive touchdown for an emphatic 49-13 win over Valhalla (11-2).

“We definitely knew we had to put up some style points,” Hipp said.