Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin's varsity football team closed a milestone-filled regular season Friday, Oct. 23, defeating rival Lake Catholic 35-7 at home to capture its first conference championship since 2012.
The victory completed an undefeated North Coast Conference campaign and improved the Lions to 9-1, marking the program's first nine-win regular season since 2004. NDCL also earned its first victory over Lake Catholic since 2021 and secured a first-round bye in the OHSAA playoffs.
Senior quarterback Brady Capel accounted for four touchdowns, completing 20 of 23 passes for 164 yards and two scores while rushing for 128 yards and two additional touchdowns.
Capel opened the scoring with a first-quarter rushing touchdown, giving NDCL an early advantage.
After both defenses produced stops, Robby Lipowski added a rushing touchdown to extend the Lions' lead to 14-0.
NDCL delivered another important scoring drive in the closing minutes of the first half.
Taking possession with less than two minutes remaining, Capel connected with Carmen Cirino five times to move the Lions downfield. With three seconds left before halftime, Capel found Austin Otero for a touchdown, sending NDCL into the break with a 21-0 lead.
Lake Catholic responded early in the second half, capitalizing on an NDCL fumble to cut the deficit to 21-7.
The Lions answered with a touchdown pass from Capel to Wesley Jacobson, restoring their three-score advantage.
Capel later added his second rushing touchdown to complete the scoring.
Defensively, NDCL limited Lake Catholic to just 102 total yards. Max Valis contributed five tackles and two sacks as the Lions prevented the Cougars from mounting a sustained comeback.
Lipowski finished with 54 rushing yards, 18 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Beyond the rivalry result, Friday's victory represented a significant achievement for the NDCL program. The Lions completed conference play unbeaten, claimed their first league championship in 14 years and reached nine regular-season victories for the first time in 22 years.
NDCL now turns its attention to the OHSAA playoffs, where the Lions have earned a first-round bye. Their next opponent will be determined by the postseason bracket.
