Notre Dame’s backfield overwhelms CAK in win

Notre Dame’s offense was running wild at the end of the regular season. The Fighting Irish apparently saw no reason to change things up as the Division II-AA football playoffs got underway Friday night.

The Irish blew open a competitive first half to rout Christian Academy of Knoxville 55-17, setting up a second-round matchup against Franklin Road Academy.

Senior running back Jordan Ford rushed for 158 yards and four touchdowns on 10 carries to lead the Irish (9-1), and Monroe Beard and Cam Wynn each added more than 100 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns apiece.

“To have that many guys that can run the football is incredible,” Notre Dame coach Charles Fant said of his offense, which totaled 574 yards on the ground. “It’s team football, and they’re great because we have a great offensive line to open up holes.”

Wynn’s 1-yard run on a direct snap resulted in Notre Dame’s first touchdown midway through the first quarter. The Irish continued to establish the run during their next possession, with running back Beard taking the ball to the end zone on a 95-yard dash. Ford next capped a six-play 62-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown.

The Irish never punted, scoring yet again as Ford evaded a host of CAK defenders on his way to a 77-yard touchdown run. He also scored on a 3-yard dive as well as a 19-yard end-around.

Notre Dame led 14-3 at the end of the first quarter and 27-17 at halftime.

The Irish were able to pull ahead thanks to their defense, which shut out the Warriors (3-8) in the second half after a successful CAK passing attack early. The Warriors never punted as well, but the were 1-for6 on fourth-down conversion attempts.

“They play fast, and it’s hard to get your plays in. But I can’t say more about Coach (David) Carter, he’s a guru,” Fant said. “We made tremendous adjustments in our coverage, and that was the difference.”

Notre Dame will host FRA (7-4), which routed Knoxville Grace 39-6 Friday.