Dominant defenses led the way for the Bishop Dwenger and Bishop Luers football teams to find themselves as semistate champions and headed to Indianapolis next wekend seeking state titles.

Here's how it happened:

Saints marching to Lucas Oil for 1st time since ’18

Back in August, when Bishop Dwenger walked off the field at Indianapolis Roncalli after a 3-0 loss in the season opener, the Saints’ coaching staff promised each other: We’ll see those guys again.

That bold prediction became reality Friday night as the No. 6 Saints dominated South Bend St. Joseph in a 28-7 semistate victory at Shields Field, the 11th semistate title in program history.

Bishop Dwenger (12-2) is headed back to the Class 4A state finals for the first time since 2018, when the Saints won their fifth state title.

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